Unova Uprising
by ChaosFlash912
Summary: On a will, Casey, Caleb, Flash along with several others head to Unova on a new adventure! Will they survive and take down Neo Team Plasma? Read to find out! Rated T for violence, blood and swearing. (Genres may change)
1. Adventure Awaits

(Started typing on April 16, 2015.

A start of a new adventure, and this time we're doing it starting from the place the boys live. From the Neo Multimedia Capital to the Unova Region, this is: Unova Uprising. Also, everything and everyone belongs to their rightful owners. The only trio of OCs I own are on my Profile. Hailey and Peanut belong to SHSL Hope G Komaeda. Survivor Yoshi Desert (which might be referenced a lot later down the road) belongs to TJBambi93.

P.S.: Bolded text with quotations is Tellius Ancient Language (from Fire Emblem Tellius, no duh.) Casey, Caleb, and a character that will appear later on will be able to speak it.

Italics with ' in them are the Pokémon speaking.

And italics with quotation marks in them is telepathy, used by the brothers and one of Casey's Pokemon.)

**Prologue: Adventure Awaits!**

The Neo Multimedia Capital is a city on a small island called Gamer's Island. Gamer's Island is split in half, making Gamer's Island North and Gamer's Island South. Gamer's Island North is where the city lies...

Multimedia Capital is divided into three districts. There's a housing district, a guild district, and a business district.

It is not here where we see our first three heroes of this story. Instead, we find ourselves at the docks of the island, where two boys and a black fox like creature stand.

The younger of the two was about 12 years old, wearing a blue T-shirt with a logo that makes it look like he has a tuxedo on, and blue skinny jeans, with red and black tennis shoes. He was looking through his backpack to make sure he had everything he needed for this adventure.

The older of the two was about 15 years old, wearing a white long sleeved thermal with black athletic pants and gray and blue sneakers. He too, was rummaging through his bag, hoping he had everything he needed. Some people would recognize him as the 9th place finisher in Survivor Yoshi Desert. Others may not.

The fox was a slate gray fox-like Pokémon with red and black accents. Its ears are triangular with dark insides, and it has a large tuft of fur tipped with red on top of its head. The Pokémon was a Zorua, who was looking at both boys expectantly.

Because it was on this day, March 18th, 2015, that Casey Stargazer, his younger brother Caleb, and their friend Zorua would embark on a journey to the Unova Region just because they can. Currently they were going over the things they had with them.

"Okay, you sure we got everything?" Caleb asked. "Crystals, extra clothes, weapons?"

"Yeah, I went over this stuff last night." Casey answered.

"You guys readyyyyyyyyyy?" A voice asked them. One of their many companions that goes by the name of Peanut, appears next to them. Both boys nodded to that.

"Coooooooool! I made a boat just for this!" Peanut gleefully exclaimed, pointing to it. "I can't take you though... It's a bit confusing to be in two scenes at once...I gave it autopilot, so it's fine!"

Casey didn't question it, though Caleb raised an eyebrow. He then disregarded that fact, and both guys got on the boat. It was then Peanut realized something.

"Oh! Just in case the autopilot fails you..." He put Zorua on the boat in a rather cute sailor outfit, making Casey smile a little. "This complementary Zorua will save you!"

"I can does ship!" Zorua declared as he was placed on the boat.

"Hey! Now let's not waste any more time and get there!" Casey eagerly declared. The boat sets off, just as Peanut poofs. At the same time...someone jumped on the boat, startling both brothers.

"Oh my god!" Caleb screamed, yanking a bowgun out of his bag. Anyone trying to hurt any of his companions would be shot at. He was serious. However, this hostility would be unneeded as the person identified herself.

"…Yo. Chill." The girl, who had orange hair, sat casually on the boat. "No need for violence."

"Oh..." He put away his bowgun. "Forgive me. I just thought you were hostile."

"Nah, I'm chill." The girl said.

"I am Casey Stargazer, legendary journeyman." The older introduced.

"And I am Caleb Stargazer, sorcerer and the so called 'prodigy' to my older brother." The younger greeted. "Would you tell us your name?"

"Name's Hailey. Nice to meet you." The girl waved lazily at them.

"You a trainer?" Casey wondered. Needless to say, his interest was piqued at her sudden arrival.

The girl nodded. "Mhm. Rather accomplished one, if I say so myself."

"Really now? What region?" The bros were curious as to her exploits.

"I got to the quarter-finals in the Sinnoh league a few months ago." Hailey grinned. "...but other than that, I'm relatively new... I've only been a trainer for a year..."

Casey grinned, taking the opportunity to make himself seem important. "Nice. Never been to Sinnoh. I've been to Hoenn twice, Johto was my first trip, and Kalos. All four trips went off okay...well, almost all of them." That grin suddenly turned to a neutral expression.

"...are you okay?" Hailey blinked.

"It's rather personal." That was all he had to say.

"Okay." Hailey blinked once again.

"And then it went from personal to complete out of control." Caleb then said.

"Hey, I did what I did, I have no regrets." Casey defended.

"You shoved a guy into a coffin and kicked said coffin out to sea. Now is that out of control to you?" Well, at least the guy in question was still alive and breathing to this day.

"That sounds... Eventful." Hailey blinked for the third time now.

"Eventful indeed." Casey agreed.

"My journey wasn't anything like that... I trained up my Pokémon really hard and got into the Pokémon League, but lost..." Hailey sighed.

"I did the same things for my adventures. Except there were crazy things that happened in between the gym battles." Casey then wondered when they would get there.

"Weird... I mean, there were a few interruptions, but..." Halley blinked for the fourth time now. (I think we should get a running counter on this now.)

"Like a..." Caleb was snapping his fingers at what was probably on the tip of his tongue.

"Um…" She wasn't very sure.

"Eh, it's alright." Casey reassured. "Maybe this time there won't be any interruptions." But with his luck, odds are there would be.

Hailey nodded. "I don't mind either way..." And then the guys let out a yawn, both asking in unison,

"Are we there yet?" It would be a while before they arrived at their destination, as they both drifted off to sleep. It was rather late at night. Both guys thought about where their other pal Flash went off to, that thought occupying their dreams tonight.

(And that's the Prologue! Be sure to read, favorite, follow, and REVIEW! Reviews are what make the world go around! It's what keeps our pants square! XD Lata! -Flash

P.S.: As for where this adventure takes place, it's on the forum named after the titular city, however it's called 'Mustache Kitty Society' for the month of April. Long story. ;) )


	2. Chapter 1 First Steps

(This might actually turn out to be a good story, methinks. Don't have much to say aside from kick back and enjoy.

Also to note, regular bolded text without quotations is the Pokedex speaking, giving the guys info on what a Pokémon is. Expect this to happen a lot.

The Reviews:

FrostingFlames: Be glad I explained it to ya. :3

SHSL Hope G Komaeda: Yeah, I've had practice. Practice as in being in Expository Writing for my second semester of my freshman year. Next to singing and video gaming, writing ranks up in my top 3 interests! :D)

**CHAPTER 1: First Steps; Quiz Gym**

"Heeeeeeey! We're here!" Zorua was jumping up and down. Even though it was still late at night, the boat had arrived at their destination: The Unova region.

"We are?" Casey asked. Both looked up in astonishment. They would see Aspertia City, the location of the first gym in the Unova League. The guys exchanged grins and hugged each other. "We made it man! Here we are in the Unova region!"

Caleb smirked. "Now don't get too cocky, bro. We're in uncharted territory for the two of us."

Zorua took a look at Aspertia City. "I don't remember this place…" The fox admitted.

"Huh?" Casey wondered.

"It's probably a new settlement in the region." Caleb tried to answer. "Point is, we're both going into the Unova League, right Casey?"

"Yeah. Eight gyms, then the Elite 4, and then the Champion." The older nodded. "Let's get to work, man." At least, that's what he expected to happen. If there was a new set up he hadn't heard of, he would definitely be caught off guard.

Zorua asked, "Erm…Caleb, do you have any Pokémon?"

The older shook his head no. "This is my first adventure in any region." He answered. "All Casey has is his Gardevoir, which I'm assuming he's only going to use when the chips are down?" He looked at Casey when he said that, and the older nodded.

"Right." Casey knew that was not true at all, as he knew; use every advantage you have. (Then again, I could be quoting someone on that.)

"You guys need Pokémon first, then. Right?" Zorua asked, looking at them both.

The two nodded. "You know someone, I assume?" Caleb asked.

"...no, I'm just pointing out. Didn't want you two running into a gym and then realizing..." Zorua said. They weren't running to the gym at all. Oh no. Mainly because they didn't know if there was a gym here or not. It was just like Caleb said. The Unova region was uncharted territory for both of them.

"...well. It looks like you two have some catching up to do." Hailey grinned, hopping out of the boat. "We should get to it, then."

The boys hopped out of the boat. "Yeah, last time I was in an adventure like this, it was back in November. Let's hope I'm not rusty!" Casey grinned. 'And it only took me six days with Flash's help!' He added inwardly. Speaking of Flash, the journeyman wondered where he was. Last he heard from him the ex-narrator was going through a lot of stress for unknown reasons.

Hailey flipped out a map...

"...There's a gym in this city. You two should have two Pokémon ready to fight. You can probably use your current Pokémon to catch them...or something. I'll meet you at the gym!" She walked off. It took the older brother ten seconds to formulate a plan.

"Wait...shouldn't we get starters?" Casey wondered. "It's been tradition to get them for me ever since Johto."

"Well genius, where do we go get our starters?" Caleb asked in response. Honestly, he was a little peeved that Casey thought he knew everything there was to know about Pokémon.

Zorua prodded Casey's leg. "Wouldn't they be at a lab? Or something?" He asked innocently.

"Yeah, but I don't see a lab around here...unless there's some convenient bag lying around with three Pokémon in them." Casey answered, hoping for a miracle.

"UH..." Zorua looked around.

"Ack!" A voice the trio identified as female screeched out, followed by a thud shortly after. The party looked over to see that a blonde haired girl, a green beret like hat on her head, had fallen over. The guys rushed over to her, intent on helping her up. "You alright, madam?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah... I am..." She sighed, standing up.

"Yeah, are you okay?" Zorua asked, having taken a form identical to hers.

"Why yes, thank you Bianca!" Bianca said cheerfully.

"...EH?!" She freaked, backing away.

"Hihihihihi!" Zorua giggled evilly.

"Oh, that's our friend Zorua." Casey reassured. "And you would be..."

"B- Bianca!" She stammered. She adjusted her glasses and kept glancing at Zorua.

"Uh, my name is Casey Stargazer, legendary journeyman by trade. I've been to Johto, Kalos and twice to Hoenn." Casey greeted, a bit unsure on how to react to Zorua's little trick.

"I'm his brother Caleb Stargazer. I'm also a sorcerer, and his apparent prodigy." Caleb introduced in a much more neutral tone.

"Nice to meet you..." Bianca seemed to have gotten over the surprise. Caleb changed the topic of discussion to their current situation.

"We'd like to take on the Unova League, and Casey here thinks we should have some starters. Do you know who distributes those?"

"I- I have them..." Bianca pointed to her bag. Both guys looked at her, expressions asking if it was okay to look inside. "E- Eh?!" Bianca grabbed her bag quickly. "N- No! I promised Professor Juniper I wouldn't lose these!"

**"Well this is troublesome..."** Casey muttered. Then he got an idea. "Who exactly is Professor Juniper?" He might as well try to get Bianca to open up to the choice of letting them have starters. And if Casey knew anything from his four Pokémon region journeys, professors always wanted the Pokedex completed, so logically, Juniper must want the Pokedex complete as well.

"...but we ARE low on new trainers..." Bianca murmured, suddenly brightening up at the idea she thought of one her own. "...it's probably okay if you two take one each, as well as a Pokedex!"

"Awesome!" Caleb grinned. He didn't ask what a Pokedex was, he just took it.

"Now let's see what starters we get this time..." Casey mused, thinking about which one he'd want to have. Bianca opened up the bag and sent out the starters, Tepig, Oshawott, and Snivy. All three stood there, sizing the boys up.

Caleb took one look at Tepig and called, "Dibs!" Caleb chose Tepig, mainly due to the fact he liked how it looked.

"Okay then...now I would be a jerk and pick Oshawott...but. Seeing as I've never chosen the grass type starter, I'm gonna go with Snivy." Casey chose Snivy, thinking about his past picks. Johto, Totodile. First time in Hoenn…we all know how THAT went. Kalos, Fennekin. And his second time in Hoenn- you know, he didn't even wind up using it on his final team, but it wasn't Treecko. Bianca retrieved Oshawott and gave them each a Pokedex.

"Feels like old times." Casey grinned, a feeling of nostalgia overcoming him.

"Yeah, this is all new to me bro, so I might lag behind a little bit on the whole experience thing." Caleb told him.

Bianca bowed. "Thank you for your time!"

"Welcome!" The guys told her. "Now all we gotta do is register..." Casey thought aloud.

"I best be off..." Bianca then went to leave, letting the two guys think about what their plan would be. So the guys then went around town with their new Pokémon, looking for the place to register. They didn't know where, didn't know how.

Eventually, they both managed to get signed up, now with their starters in hand and Pokedexes as well.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Caleb asked.

"Well, it's kinda late, so maybe check in somewhere and call it a night?" Casey suggested. He looked up at the night sky, which corroborated on his statement.

"Probably a hotel..." Zorua said. However, Casey shook his head.

"I doubt that this city has one."

"I bet there's one..." Zorua frowned, but Caleb ruffled his fur a little bit.

"Well, it's not the first time we've been without a legit bed." Casey stated, remembering back from their first adventure together. "Back when we were younger, Caleb and I camped out during our travels in Tellius when we couldn't find a place to stay."

"Oh yeah, that's true." Caleb agreed. "So does this mean we find a place to sleep?" Zorua happily agreed to the plan, all three of them having found a place outside of town, and went to sleep till morning.

Day 2 (March 19th, 2015)

Zorua yawned as he awoke, poking at Casey's foot. Said journeyman woke up just as that was happening…for about fifteen seconds.

"Hey Zorua!" Casey cheerily greeted.

"Yo!" Zorua saluted. Caleb slowly roused himself from slumber shortly afterwards. Once they got all the mandatory morning stuff out of the way, he boys decided to see what their new Pokémon were like. Snivy was a quiet one. She looked at Casey, almost like it was sizing him up. Tepig was a different story. The Fire Pig just walked over to Caleb, looking for a hug and whatnot. Zorua trotted over to the other Pokémon. Snivy gave Zorua a small smile. It gave the fox a look that said, 'You with these two?'

_'Kinda sorta maybe. Not in a trainer sense.' _The fox responded.

_'Ah. Pleasure to meet you.'_ Snivy responded. Tepig was too busy huggling Caleb to notice.

_'Same to you.'_ The fox was pleased to notice that Snivy was more than the silent type.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Casey asked. "There's a gym in this town, but I don't want to go in there guns blazing..."

"For once, a good plan that doesn't involve going knees deep in trouble." Caleb complimented in a rather sarcastic and joking manner.

"Didn't Hailey say that you each need 2 pokemon for this gym?" Zorua asked. He knew how the gyms worked at least, so there was an advantage they needed right away.

"Well no, not from my memory." Casey answered. "I'm fine, but Caleb needs another one."

"Any idea where to head?" The younger asked.

_'Hey, I have a plan.'_ Snivy told Zorua. _'I think I know my way around Unova, so tell them to follow me, okay?'_

"Snivy says to follow him!" Zorua relayed to the boys.

"Alright Snivy! Lead the way!" Casey told him.

_'Adventure!'_ Tepig gleefully squealed, raising his snout to the air. So the guys began to follow the grass type. Their route was to head outside of Aspertia to Route 20. Zorua followed happily along behind them.

"Why not train along the way?" Casey asked, the group having reached Route 20.

_'Oh...I was 'hoping' you'd ask that question.'_ Snivy sarcastically remarked. He really wasn't a fan of that idea, but it gave him the idea that his new trainer was a bit…bloodthirsty for his own good. But in a metaphorical sense, at least.

"I guess we probably should..." Zorua blinked. "You guys ARE kinda underleveled..." Cue Casey deciding to go into the tall grass with Snivy.

"Older brother first, I guess." Caleb frowned.

A Pidove popped out to engage the two.

"Uh...changed my mind, little brothers first!" Casey suddenly said, knowing he'd be screwed against a flying type. He really didn't want to have his Gardevoir do all the dirty work for him, as well.

Caleb facepalmed, sighing at his brother's sudden choice. "Tepig, attack that Pokémon, if you would."

Tepig charged at Pidove, using a Tackle. Pidove was thrown back and used Gust, flapping its wings at rather high speeds to attack.

"Tepig, hunker down and wait it out!" Caleb ordered. The Fire Pig did just that, holding on the best it could. After a while, the flying type attacked ceased.

"Attack once again!" Caleb ordered. Tepig went for another Tackle. Pidove was slammed back, dizzy. "Now finish the job, Tepig!" The sorcerer shouted, Tepig going in for the third tackle, which put the Normal/Flying type down for the count.

Tepig danced around in glee, having won its first battle. _'Yeah! I won!'_

Snivy smirked and rolled his eyes. _'Childish as always, aren't we?'_

_'So mean!'_ Zorua said to Snivy.

_'It's true.'_ He shrugged.

"Looks like Tepig's happy it won." Casey chuckled.

"Indeed my new friend did." Caleb went over to the Fire Pig Pokémon and kneeled down to his level. The kid was glad he did well in battle.

'_Good job, Tepig!'_ Zorua bounded over.

_'I know, right?'_ Tepig chuckled with glee. _'I've only known Caleb for a night, but I think he'll be a good trainer!'_

Casey laughed, and looked at Snivy. "I'm starting to think we have different personalities."

_'You couldn't be more right.'_ Snivy responded, showing his true colors. Zoura blinked at the revelation.

"It's like Snivy has Caleb's personality, and Tepig has Casey's personality...Hm... I wonder if this'll work out well... Pokémon-trainer compatibility is important, so lots of trainers have Pokémon with their personalities..." He didn't know Casey and Caleb for as long as the two knew each other, so he was interested as to how this would work out in the long run.

"If Snivy has my brother's personality, and vice versa for Tepig..." Casey thought. "I think we should be okay." Besides, for all Casey knew, opposites attract.

Zorua pondered this for a little bit, then shrugged it off. "...oh well! Caleb still needs a second Pokémon, right?"

"Yeah, but we don't have any empty Pokeballs..." Casey stated.

_'Hmm...'_ Snivy thought. _'I do believe there's a town at the end of this road, so maybe we can stock up there?' _Zorua wasted no time translating for the two humans.

"Let's go then. You lead, Snivy." Casey nodded.

"I'm in." Caleb added. Snivy then led the way down the road, eyes out for any wild Pokemon that would try to attack him. However, they reached Flocessy Town without event.

"Alright...now where do we buy Poke Balls?" Casey wondered. Then realized something he remembered from Kalos. "Oh, aren't we supposed to head to the Pokemon Center to buy them?"

_'That seems to be the case.'_ Snivy nodded.

"Where I'm from, they're in the Pokémon center. If this is anywhere like the rest of Unova, then yes." Zorua affirmed. Caleb put a hand to his chin, agreeing with that statement.

"Assuming that this is part of the Unova region...yes, we should have a look." Caleb agreed, going inside. The others entered as well. Both boys were happy to know that Casey was correct on his assumption.

"How many we need, little bro?" He asked.

"I suppose four Poke Balls will do, two for each of us." Caleb suggested. He knew that they weren't exactly rolling in the money, but Casey seemed to have just enough to pay for it.

"Yay!" Zorua cheered, seeing the potential of getting knew friends.

"Now we just need to train up our starters and get Caleb his second Pokemon." Casey grinned. This adventure, if it would be this easy, would certainly go rather well in his mind.

_'Yeah! I know we can do it!'_ Tepig smiled.

"You might wanna work toward evolving those two." Zorua said to the pair. "It could be helpful."

"Yes, I know how much evolution can help out." Casey smirked. "I'm sure Caleb can assume the same, right?"

The younger nodded. "Now what to have as my second Pokémon..."

_'Why not search around and try to find one that tickles your fancy?'_ Snivy mused.

"What Snivy said!" Zorua said cheerfully, not realizing that they couldn't understand Snivy.

"Uh...Snivy, mind giving us a hint here? We can't quite understand you." Caleb deadpanned.

"We could have Gardevoir play messenger for us. You know, translate for us." Casey suggested. That seemed to sadly knock Zorua's ego down a peg.

"...oh yeah, I forgot." Zorua sweatdropped and translated.

"Oh, now when you put it like that, I don't see why we don't go that!"

"Let's go!" The route they headed to now be the next route over, Route 21.

"Alright, you see anything interesting, bro?" Casey asked.

"No, nothing at the moment. Maybe if we look around a little bit?" Caleb suggested. He and Tepig were already searching the area for any Pokémon that he could have on his team. There was a Sewaddle, happily munching on a tree leaf. Caleb used his Pokedex to see what kind of Pokemon Sewaddle was.

**Sewaddle. The Sewing Pokemon. Since this Pokémon makes its own clothes out of leaves, it is a popular mascot for fashion designers.**

"Hmm..." Caleb smirked. "I don't see the harm in catching this guy." He gave Tepig a glance, and went over to the Sewaddle. The Bug/Grass type tried a Tackle, but Tepig struck back with a Tackle of his own. Sewaddle was knocked back, Caleb taking this as his chance to catch the Pokémon. He threw a Poke Ball before Sewaddle could make any other moves.

1…

2…

3…

Success!

Caleb smirked. "That worked out well."

Casey nodded. "Now what else is there to do?"

_'Well, you know that Pokémon grow faster from Trainer Battles, right?'_ Snivy suggested.

Both guys looked at each other, both having rather wild grins. And thus, within ten minutes, they beat everyone on the route.

"Wow, you guys beat everyone." Zorua commented.

"It pays to be through Zorua." Casey commented. During their training, Tepig learned Ember, and Snivy learned Vine Whip. At least, I'm sure they did. They were sure they did. The Pokémon were sure they did.

"They seem to have improved." Zorua said. "But do you think it's enough?"

"I'm willing to take my chances." Casey stated, confident as ever. Caleb felt like he would be okay.

"Then let's go to the gym!" Zorua cheered. The party headed back to Aspertia City to challenge the gym. Both were thinking the same thing. 'Shouldn't be too hard.' Little did they know, Casey would get in one of the stupidest arguments of his life.

As the party made their way to the city, they managed to find Hailey. "Hey Hailey." Caleb greeted. "How was the gym?"

Hailey huffed. "Easy! I didn't have to use any strong Pokémon...I got tired of waiting for you guys, so I'm going ahead. Good luck!" She then went on her way to the next town with a gym, leaving the brothers and Zorua there.

"Take care!" Casey waved. The guys headed inside the gym, which instantly to them looked like a classroom. Both boys sweatdropped. "I guess it's out back…" They looked for a back exit, but found it was blocked by someone. "Um, excuse us." Casey greeted the someone. "We're here to challenge this gym, if that's not a problem."

"To get through and challenge it, you have to take a test!" The person said loudly. Caleb just looked at his brother, wondering if all the gyms were like this in one way or another.

"Or I could make it a problem." He growled, though Snivy stopped him from doing anything stupid.

_'Humor this guy, kiddo. He probably doesn't realize who you are.'_ He shrugged.

"I don't think it matters who you are, you still have to take a test to challenge this gym..." Zorua mused. He was disguised as a little kid.

"Okay, so apparently I'm rolling with this." Casey sarcastically remarked. "Go on. Quiz me." He dared this person. The person however, flipped out a stack of papers much to Casey's annoyance.

"It's a WRITTEN test."

He looked at Caleb. And the younger looked back. "God, this somewhat reminds me of Johto in a way...can't quite put my finger on it..." Casey halfheartedly joked, being reminded of Clair in a sense.

"Are you both participating?" The man asked. His patience was running a little thin.

"Well we both are, but this seems a little unnecessary." Caleb commented. Casey began flipping through the test as this was happening, and found that it was only ten questions.

"Gym leader's orders. It's the easiest challenge of all the gyms." The person commented.

"I'd like to meet this gym leader, if that's not too much of a problem. Or is the gym leader getting their Pokémon healed after our pal Hailey trounced them?" The younger commented.

"If you want to meet the gym leader, take the test." The man replied.

Tepig brushed up against Caleb's leg, getting his attention. _'Hey, a true hero doesn't back down to any challenge!'_ Tepig told his trainer. _'Although this one does seem kinda boring...'_

"If it's the only way, might as well." Casey shrugged. "Besides, it's only ten questions."

After both boys had completed the test, both looked at each other. Strangely, the last question was a trick, as Casey felt it was. The question was 'Who was the first Pokémon?' with the answers being Bulbasaur, Arceus, Mew, and Rhydon. Caleb picked Rhydon, while Casey circled every single answer on that question.

The person came back to grade the tests, who said after he was done, "It seems you both have the same scores: 9/10. You'll have to have a battle over who does the challenge first."

The guys looked at each other, and both knew what the other was thinking. It would be outright curbstomp in Casey's eyes if that was the case. "Youngest first." He then said, giving Caleb a smirk.

The younger was visibly touched, even if it was just slightly. "You...you're letting me?"

"Caleb, ever since we've been together on our journey, you've only been my right hand man, yearning to prove himself. Today, I'm giving you the chance to do just that. Now you go to that battlefield, pound the stuffing out of that gym leader, and get that badge! You hear me?"

**"Hell yeah."** Caleb grinned. It was then the person stood aside, allowing the brothers through. When they got to the outdoor arena for the gym battles, the leader Cheren was waiting for them.

"I see you two passed to the test. Are you ready to battle?" The leader asked.

The boys nodded. "Caleb, this is your moment. Your moment to show me how far you've come. Now..."

"I know what I'm doing, brother." The younger stepped forward, looking at his brother like he's heard this before. Tepig's Poke Ball in hand, he was ready to face Cheren. Cheren sent out a Patrat, and Caleb sent out Tepig.

_'Oh yeah! Let's do this!'_ The Fire Pig stared down his opponent with determination in its glance. Patrat however, instantly used Leer to knock Tepig's ego down a peg or six.

"Remain calm Tepig. Use Ember." Caleb calmly told his Pokémon, using his brain for this battle.

_'R-Right!'_ Tepig instantly used Ember. Patrat jumped over the Ember and at the Fire Pig, the latter of which, on instinct, used Tackle as well.

Patrat was knocked back. "Bide!" Cheren ordered. When the gym leader shouted that attack, Caleb's eyes went wide with shock.

Caleb went wide eyed with the command. "Tepig, change of plans. Just stick to using Tail Whip until Patrat stops doing that...whatever it is he's doing." Tepig did just that.

When the Bide was supposed to be unleashed, the rodent like Pokémon found it did absolutely nothing. Caleb ordered another Tackle. With that, Patrat went down, Cheren sending out Lillipup next.

"Tepig, get over here." Caleb said. The Fire Pig went to the younger's side. "Sewaddle, it's your time to shine." And he called Sewaddle out of its Poke Ball. The Grass/Bug was ready to battle in Tepig's stead.

"Leer!" Cheren ordered. Lillipup glared intensely at Sewaddle, the intensity so thick it could only be cut with Cloud's Buster Sword. (Or just have Peko Pekoyama take care of it. :P)

Sewaddle was effectively leer'd, but Caleb gave out a command. "Sewaddle, use String Shot to latch on to Lillipup, then use Tackle." The Sewing Pokémon did what Caleb ordered, aiming its String Shot right between Lillipup's eyes.

"...hmph. Reel Sewaddle in and use tackle." Cheren said. Lillipup grabbed the string in its teeth and yanked on it hard.

"Disconnect the string!" Caleb shouted. Sewaddle did just that.

_'Maybe you should try something else Caleb?'_ Tepig suggested, unaware that Caleb couldn't understand Poké speak. Before Caleb could figure out what Tepig had suggested, Lillipup shot forward with a tackle. He didn't need to understand that, however. Sewaddle used String Shot to swing away from Lillipup, on pure instinct.

Casey was just watching this. 'Sewaddle's probably scared to fight that Lillipup head on...' He thought. Back to the battle, Lillipup used Leer once more. Sewaddle tried String Shot again, this time attempting to bind Lillipup up. Lilipup dodged around, trying to get closer to Sewaddle.

"Sewaddle, wait till Lillipup gets close!" Caleb shouted. He didn't say what after that, but Sewaddle knew what he meant. Lillipup used Tackle, which Caleb saw as his window of opportunity.

"Now!" Sewaddle then latched onto Lillipup's face, doing whatever it could to hold on. Lillipup started panicking.

"Lillipup, use tackle on the ground." Cheren said calmly. Lillipup did so. To Caleb, it seemed that Sewaddle was killed from being slammed on the ground like that. But then it was revealed that Sewaddle was still alive. It just fainted.

**"Oh thank the Divine Dragon..."** Caleb sighed in relief. "Can't say I blame your valiant effort." Caleb rolled his eyes, recalling Sewaddle.

_'I shall avenge my fallen friend! And you!'_ The Fire Pig pointed one of its legs at Lillipup. _'You will fall before me!'_ Without hesitation, Tepig unleashed an Ember at Lillipup. Humorously, Lillipup dodged.

"Tackle! Now!" Cheren called. Lillipup dashed ahead using Tackle.

"Return the favor!" Caleb shouted. Tepig went for a Tackle as well. The two collided, Caleb ordering an Ember. Tepig leaped back after the collision, using the aforementioned fire type move. Lillipup was smashed to the ground, defeated.

"You win." Cheren smiled and gave Caleb the badge.

"You should feel honored." Caleb smirked, his brother's cockiness rubbing off on him. "You're the first gym leader I've beaten." And he took the badge and gave it a look over.

"Alright, little brother!" Casey cheered.

"Are you ready to fight?" Cheren asked Casey.

The journeyman laughed. "As ready as I'll ever be!"

Caleb went to head back to the Pokémon Center in town. _"Case, I'll meet you at the Pokémon Center. Meet me there once you're done."_

_"Got it."_ Cheren sent out Patrat.

"Snivy, you're on!" Casey called Snivy out of his Poke Ball.

Then the Grass type looked at Patrat. _'Alright, let's get this over with.'_ He then used Leer on the Patrat. Patrat returned the favor with a Leer of his own. The two were now engaged in an epic staring contest, once again the tension being so thick we'd need Cloud's Buster Sword (being wielded by Peko) to cut through it. Snivy broke the tension however, going for a Vine Whip on the rodent. Patrat dodged out of the way and went for a Tackle attack.

"Hit em with a Tackle of your own!" Casey shouted. Snivy lunged forward, going for a Tackle as well. However, he was going in feet first, as if to use Patrat's face as a launchpad. However, Patrat's Tackle was enough to overwhelm Snivy's.

"Hey Snivy! Go for another Vine Whip!" Casey shouted. **"Hopefully Patrat knows Bite..."**

Snivy used the attack again, landing a hit on Patrat's lower jaw.

"Another Leer!" Casey commanded, Snivy and Patrat returning to their stare off. "Go for another Tackle." He suggested. Cheren shouted for another Tackle from Patrat, the two mons running at each other with full force.

"Hit em with your best shot!" Casey encouraged his Snivy to try and overpower Patrat this time. The attacks collided, both trying to overpower the other...

"You can do it, Patrat!" Cheren shouted.

"Come on Snivy! You know you want it!" Casey screamed. "You know you want it!"

_'I...want it!'_ Snivy shouted, a sudden burst of energy overcoming him. The result was a tie, as both Pokémon had fallen.

Casey recalled Snivy, chuckling. "Time to show you my oldest ally from Hoenn. Embrace, show him what you've got!"

Embrace came out of her Premier Ball, giving Cheren a friendly wave. Cheren retrieved Patrat and sent out a Stoutland. Casey laughed, but there was a little bit of fear in the tone. Little known fact; Casey was scared of dogs. He whipped out his Pokedex.

"Alright, what the heck is this?" Was his thought.

**Stoutland, the Big Hearted Pokémon. Being wrapped in its long fur is so comfortable that a person would be fine even overnight on a wintry mountain.**

"Okay...**this is going to suck.**" Casey sighed. "Ah well, what can be done about it? Embrace, Shock Wave!"

_"On it!"_ The Gardevoir then used the aforementioned move on Stoutland. The pure Normal type was knocked back from the move. Casey then decided to change it up a bit.

_"Embrace, what're you thinking?"_

_"Throwing this guy around with Psychic sounds ideal."_ The Gardevoir responded.

_"Alright. Act on instinct unless I say otherwise."_ The journeyman ordered. Embrace then used Psychic on Stoutland. Stoutland was grabbed, and it yelped. It struggled to move. Embrace spun Stoutland around a little bit like laundry in the spin cycle and threw the dog up into the air. Stoutland recovered and used Giga Impact. Embrace was knocked back quite a distance from Stoutland. Hell, she was sent careening into Casey, and the latter was sent flying back to the wall. That's some power.

However, is wasn't enough to put Embrace down. Oh no. She stood, wobbly on her legs, and went for another Psychic. This time, she would slam the Normal type into the ground. Stoutland was slammed to the ground. It also was still recovering from Giga Impact, so it couldn't move again. She then, gritting her teeth, used Psychic again, slamming Stoutland into the ground again. Head first. Stoutland stood up and began stumbling toward her, the Big Hearted Pokémon likely having contracted a concussion. She just used Shock Wave again. After that, she felt her vision blurring.

Casey groaned as he got up. "Note to self...never underestimate the first gym leader of any region." He was rubbing his sore back thanks to having been slammed into a wall.

Stoutland was zapped again and knocked back once more.

_'Go...down already!'_ Embrace hissed, using Psychic one last time, this time spinning Stoutland around, and slamming it into the ground with all the strength she could muster. Yes, this was complete with a battle cry. That was the final attack needed to bring the large dog down. She had a faint smile before falling to her hands and knees.

"Embrace, that was incredible!" Casey cheered. Cheren tossed him the badge. Helping Embrace up by letting himself be used as support, the journeyman caught the badge and went to go meet up with Caleb at the Pokémon Center.

**CHAPTER 1 END**

(This is my longest doc I've ever typed so far. Read, follow, favorite and REVIEW! I accept all forms of life support, reviews being one of those ways. (JK, I'm perfectly fine.) Lata! :D -Flash)


	3. Chapter 2 Unovan Band

(Let's see if I can make this longer than last chapter! And we're only 2 days into the journey. Wow. An overachiever, Casey is. Note: Lacrima Crystals is a concept owned by the anime Fairy Tail. Also, an 'Ibuki' will be mentioned in this chapter. I'll come out and say she is owned by Spike Chunsoft, as she is a character from Dangan Ronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Her inclusion in this story will be explained later.

Oh, and there will be some subtle format changes as we go as an attempt to make this fic seem less bunched together. Enjoy!

The Reviews!

GirlofDarkness10: That laughter is somewhat unsettling…

SHSL Hope G Komaeda: I have like, an intermission chapter planned that'll show the path you and Darky are cutting through Unova. That alright?)

**CHAPTER 2: Unovan Band; Enter Neo Team Plasma**

Now that the group was tended to, Caleb had this to ask, "Alright, where to now?"

Casey had no idea. "Um...I don't know, to be honest."

"There's only one direction to go from this city, I think." Zorua pointed out.

"Let's head out, get to the next town, and crash there for the night. Sound good?" Caleb suggested.

"Yeah, why not?" Casey smirked. "Even though I was thrown into a wall, I've still got a little bit more energy to burn." With that, the group headed to Floccesy Town and checked into the Pokémon Center to crash for the night.

Day 3 (March 20th, 2015) Start!

The next morning, when the party awoke, they set their sights on the next city. Wherever that might be.

"I hope the next town has a gym." Zorua commented as he trotted along.

"You know what else would be helpful?" Casey wondered. "If we had any idea where the next town is."

"Ehe... Despite being from Unova, I've never heard of this place before..."

"I'm guessing times have changed." Caleb theorized. "How long has it been since you've last been here?"

"A few years..." Zorua frowned worriedly. "Two at most..."

"That's enough time for things to change." Caleb told him.

"Or maybe we're not on the mainland?" Casey thought. He was still trying to figure out why Zorua was confused about Unova's layout.

Zorua frowned. "At any rate, I can't help you guys here... I dunno where to go either..."

"Why not we ask around?" The older brother suggested. "Surely someone here knows." The fox nodded to that plan.

"That seems wise."

Within the sixth of the hour, a hiker like fellow pointed them in the direction of Virbank City. "Just keep going straight and you'll get there." He said.

"Thank you sir. We'll be on our way." The party headed to Virbank now, following the direction. Fifty minutes later, they had arrived at the gate.

-B2W2-

Upon entering the city, the group would hear two people arguing. Casey motioned to his brother to follow his lead as they took cover behind…I guess a concrete divider? They would see a girl with white hair and a guitar slung over her back arguing with a man that was dressed up like a ship captain.

"Roxie, don't try to stop me!" The man said. "I'm off to Pokestar Studios to live up to my true potential! My dream is to be a ship captain and a movie star!"

"Get real! You're a captain already, aren't you?" Roxie protested. "If that ship doesn't move, you're going to cause lots of trouble!"

The man faced her. "Oh, dear daughter. You split your time between your responsibilities as a Gym Leader and with your band, right? I can do that, too!" And then the man walked off, leaving Roxie to let her frustration reach its peak.

"AHHHHHHHH!" She screamed once he was out of earshot. "You dim-witted…dense…dumb…daft…dippy…dorkish DOOFUS!" Both brothers looked at each other like she had lost her mind. "Doing double duty isn't the problem! You're causing problems for people! Keeping people from getting where they're going because of sheer selfishness is unforgiveable!"

'This mess might have to be fixed if we're going to get any further…' Caleb thought.

"I've HAD it! I'm going to the gym!" With that, Roxie stormed off to where the gym was, muttering curse words under her breath. The party looked at each other, then took one look to make sure Roxie was gone. Someone else was there instead.

"Oh hey. You're here." Hailey was there! The guys were relieved that she was present.

"Sounds like someone had family issues." Casey told her, talking about Roxie. Then a random thought came to mind. "You think she's the Gym Leader?" He did distinctly hear in that argument the words 'Gym Leader'.

"She is." Hailey confirmed, showing off her badge case with two badges in it. The Basic Badge, and another one that was purple in color.

"Nice...now we just gotta figure out how we'll get to the mainland after we get our badges..." Caleb thought. He thought a plan had come to mind, but realized they'd need their ex-narrator with them. Flash was a rather intelligent person from what they knew. Hell, the brothers practically owed him for keeping them alive during their past escapades.

"You should get your badges first." Zorua said.

"It's a poison type gym, so my steel types did it easily." Hailey told them.

Casey, who had no idea where a steel type could be found here, that and he only had one of his own, asked,

"Any idea where we can get a steel type around here?"

"There're Magnemite in the Virbank Complex." Hailey replied.

"We'll be seeing ya!" The guys and Zorua headed off to the Virbank Complex to hunt for Magnemites. Both were thinking that this shouldn't be too hard for them at least. Upon arrival, Caleb wondered,

"Okay…where would a Magnemite be?"

"Hey kid... You shouldn't be around here..." A voice said near him. Caleb turned towards the voice, unsure if it was a hostile or not. Casey did the same. The voice belonged to a man in a black uniform and a cowl over his mouth. He looked very threatening, but the boys brushed him off as just some overzealous thug. Caleb paused, looked at his brother, then said in a calm voice,

"I don't think you know exactly who we are."

"Yeah, I know who you are. Some kids who are going to give me their Pokémon." He sent out a Koffing.

"Huh. I thought I needed my revolver for this. No matter." Casey shrugged, calling out Embrace. "Psychic, my friend." Embrace used said move on the Koffing, the poison type being predictably destroyed. The grunt then ran away crying since he lost to a pair of kids.

"Okay, that was random..." Caleb muttered. "Zorua, you know who that guy was from?" Zorua was about to respond when another thug appeared and sent out a Koffing and a Weezing to attack.

"Embrace, Psychic on the Weezing!" Casey shouted, not taking their crap.

Caleb called out Tepig. "Tepig, Ember on the Koffing!" He too, was not taking their crap. Both Pokémon did as their trainers commanded. Weezing was defeated since Embrace is the most powerful Mon the party has, but Koffing survived and used Tackle on Tepig.

Tepig was sent skidding back. "You alright, Tepig?" Caleb wondered with worry.

_'A hero is always okay!'_ The Fire Pig responded, attacking the Koffing with another Ember. Koffing was damaged, but managed to get in another Tackle. Tepig was hit again, but persisted with a third and final Ember. That was the straw breaking the camel's back as Koffing had fallen. The grunt scampered off.

"Yeah! You better run away!" Casey shouted at the grunt.

"Okay Zorua. Who were those guys?" Caleb asked.

"I- I don't know. I've never seen them before." Zorua stammered. I have my suspicions, though, he added inwardly.

"Though they did look weird. It's almost like they're going to war or something stupid." Casey shook his head in disbelief. He seriously thought people should know better by now not to steal his Pokémon. Zorua nodded.

"Whatever the case, they were not good people."

"Agreed." So they went back to searching for Magnemites, only to find a Magby on their search. Casey took one look at the Live Coal Pokémon and decided,

"Hmm...I could use a Fire type..." Casey thought.

"Allow me to soften it up for you." The younger stated. "Tepig, you think you can keep fighting?"

_'Yes I can!'_ He responded.

"Nice. Now use Tackle, please." Tepig did just that. Magby was knocked back. It unleashed an Ember. But Tepig, being a fire type himself, seemed to shrug off the blow and retaliate with a Tackle of his own. Magby was pushed back again, Casey taking his chance and throwing a Poke Ball at it.

1…

2…

3…

Success!

"That's what I'm talking about!" Casey cheered, picking up the now occupied Poke Ball.

"Good job, Casey! Even if you didn't do anything!" Zorua cheered.

"I know! I owe it to Caleb." He grinned.

"Hey, uh, I gotta make a call real quick." Caleb told them, getting out his Lacrima Crystal, a crystal ball shaped thing used for communication purposes. Zorua waited patiently and so did the older brother. Once he was done, he said, "Okay, now that that's taken care of...let's get back to hunting for a Magnemite." A Pidove roosted on his head, but the younger said it looked nothing like a Magnemite. Their next attempt was a Patrat. Still no Magnemite.

"Nope." Casey shrugged. "I wonder if we look around the electrical equipment here." Another Pidove was roosted on a power wire, both a bit flustered with the lack of the Pokémon they were looking for. "Seriously, where are the Mangemites?" Casey sighed, a little hint of frustration in his voice. Another Patrat was found, but Casey then just had Embrace used Shock Wave on that Patrat to show his annoyance. She was hesitant at first, but did it anyway.

"Hmph... I found the intervening trainers." A third thug dressed like the two before him tossed a Poke Ball at the fallen Patrat, catching it. He sent out a Weezing. "I'll crush you..."

"Other way around." Casey frowned, having Embrace using Psychic on the Weezing. "Oh, and I think that Patrat will evolve into a...uh..." Quickly, he checked his Pokedex for what Patrat evolves into. However, that was not needed at the thug answered his question. Before he even asked.

"Watchog." The man replied. He retrieved his defeated Weezing and sent out Patrat. He had caught it in a heal ball. It instantly evolved upon being deployed, and leapt at Embrace for a Hyper Fang.

"Send him back with a Shock Wave!" Casey shouted. Embrace nodded and used the said move.

Caleb meanwhile, had this to ask, "Where are the Magnemite? I'm in the right to assume you and your group is responsible for their disappearance?" He didn't have any concrete proof to say this man was involved in a criminal organization or something, but he did have a gut feeling. Watchog was thrown back. It stood and used Glare.

"We don't touch wild Pokémon... We just crush trainers and confiscate their Pokémon!" The man laughed evilly.

Zorua tensed. 'It IS them...' Then got an idea. "Caleb, how about we go find Magnemite while Casey handles this guy!?"

"Right." Caleb offered to carry Zorua. The fox jumped into his arms as they ran from the battle.

Embrace closed her eyes, trying not to let the Glare affect her. Casey then called out Snivy, who went for a Vine Whip on the Watchog. Watchog was snapped back, but minimally damaged. He raced at Snivy, trying to deliver a Hyper Fang. Embrace threw another Shock Wave at Watchog, doing what she could to protect Snivy.

"You better tell me who you are right now, or I'm gonna pound the crap out of you personally!" Casey shouted at the grunt. Watchog was thrown back again.

"I'm part of Neo Team Plasma!" The grunt snickered.

"Neo? Just by adding that doesn't make your name any less original!" Casey taunted, a fire wisp forming in his right hand. Hopefully that would scare the grunt off...as it does turn out, Casey himself can use magic. Who knew? Alas, the grunt didn't seem to notice.

"Attack, Watchog!" Watchog charged with a Hyper Fang.

"Embrace, Psychic! Snivy, Vine Whip!" Casey shouted. Both Pokémon used their attacks in fear of being on the receiving end of a bite wound like that. With that, the Watchog was defeated and the grunt had retreated.

"Yeah! And tell your friends that I'll beat the stuffing out of 'em if they lay a finger on Embrace!" Casey screamed at the grunt. The grunt was gone. "Oh, my god!" Casey huffed. "The nerve of some people..."

_"It's best not to let it get to you."_ Embrace told him.

"Yeah, I know, but seriously! He tried taking you, so I kicked his butt!"

_'Can't blame him for having a protective side.'_ Snivy shrugged.

-B2W2-

Caleb had run a considerable distance from the grunt since Zorua suggested he retreat elsewhere. After catching his breath, he spotted an Audino just standing there. He looked at his Pokedex to see what this thing was all about.

**Audino, the Hearing Pokémon. Using the feelers on its ears, it can tell how someone is feeling or when an egg might hatch.**

"Interesting..." Caleb mused. "You're an interesting Pokémon, Audino." Audino just blinked at him, wondering what he meant by saying that. "As in, like...uh, how do I put this?" Caleb wondered. "Zorua, help me out here." He had no idea where his train of thought was going with this, but he might as well try. Zorua shrugged. He wasn't sure where Caleb was going with it...and neither did the sorcerer. "Okay, what I'm trying to ask is, where can we find a Magnemite?" He asked the Audino, mentally facepalming. "Probably should have started with that." Audino considered before pointing toward a bush. With that, he walked towards the bush, and lo and behold, there was a Magnemite there.

**"Finally."** Caleb sighed in relief. He called out Tepig and requested an Ember. Magnemite was down before he even registered what just happened. He threw a Poke Ball at the Steel/Electric type.

1…

2…

3…

Success!

"There we go." Caleb smirked.

-B2W2-

An Audino wandered over to where Casey was, the journeyman taking immediate notice. He waved at Audino. "Hey there." He greeted, having taken the time to calm down from the encounter with Neo Team Plasma. Audino waved back cheerily, as it was normal behavior for its kind. "So uh, I don't know about you, but I'd like to find my little brother so we can head to the Gym in town. You know where he is?" Casey asked. He then described Caleb for it. Audino wasted no time in pointing out where Caleb ran off to, so with a "Thanks. See you around." Casey then went in the direction that Audino pointed. He spotted his brother picking up a Poke Ball, along with Zorua who noticed him.

"Hey look, it's Casey!" Zorua wagged his tail and pointed.

"So what's the story?" Caleb asked, turning around to see Casey. The older explained what he learned from the grunt he just chased off. Zorua's ears drooped upon hearing the news, prompting Caleb to ask for the third time, "You know these guys?"

"Yeah... Those psychos were running around when I was last here, too... But they were stopped..." Zorua murmured.

"And now they're back..." Caleb put a hand to his chin. "Well I suppose that's one mystery we need to solve. But first, let's get to the Pokémon Center and get our teams healed up. Then we'll take on the gym."

"Its Poison type, so Snivy and Sewaddle will have to sit out." Casey reasoned.

"This may be a hard battle for you, Casey." Zorua pointed out as they headed back to the Pokémon Center. However, Casey didn't want to roll over and admit it.

"Makes it more fun for me." The older mused. "Because I want a challenge."

-B2W2-

"So, we head to the gym now?" Zorua asked. It was late in the afternoon, both guys nodding to that idea.

"Just what I was thinking." Casey smirked. "Caleb, you ready for this?"

"Oh yeah." The younger nodded. The two then headed to the gym...when they found it, of course. When they did find it, they found the gym looked to be a music venue. Music could be heard from outside the door, so the boys entered and descended down the stairs, the music getting progressively louder. Upon entering, they found Roxie and her bandmates- one male with a bald head and a black leather jacket on the drums, and a female figure with black hair on what seemed to be either a bass or guitar- were in the middle of a heavy metal concert. Casey clutched his ears in pain. He honestly hated loud noises and couldn't stand being around them. His ears were somewhat sensitive. Heck, if he was ever asked to go to the racecar track, he would decline by saying it was too loud. Caleb however, wasn't bothered by it at all.

_"This sounds like something Ibuki-dono would play if she got the chance to."_ Casey mused

_"Yeah, but can we get Roxie to stop? We kinda need her for the challenge!"_ Caleb responded.

**"They must have a sound guy around here somewhere!"** The journeyman shouted to his brother.

"If you want to stop them, you have to go onstage and interrupt." Hailey said, coming out from the crowd. She had apparently been waiting for them.

"Oh that's easy." Casey smirked. "Ready to crash a concert, little bro?"

The younger nodded. "You got any ideas on how to crash it?" The answer should have been obvious to both of them. But they were kids. How were they supposed to know?

"Just do it quickly..." Zorua muttered, covering his ears.

"Got it!" Casey nodded, jumping on the stage. "Hey yo Roxie! Got a song request for you!" He was kidding about that last part. Roxie just looked at him, telling her bandmates to stop the song.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"My brother and I would like a battle, if you wouldn't mind." Casey told her with a rather large grin.

"Oh! Sure!" Roxie grinned, motioning her Koffing over. "Let's go!"

"Actually, I'd like to go first." Caleb informed, climbing up on stage.

"Yeah, little brother's first." The older stepped back, allowing him to do his thing.

"Alright! Magnemite, showtime!" The younger sent out the Electric/Steel type. 'Now let's see what moves it has...' He checked his Pokedex to see what moves Magnemite had.

**Magnemite's moveset is Tackle, Supersonic, Thundershock, and Sonicboom. **The Pokedex read. Koffing moved in for an Assurance while this was going on.

"Alright. Magnemite, evade the attack and use Supersonic!" The Pokemon couldn't dodge the attack, but it did use Supersonic. Koffing became confused, causing Roxie to huff in annoyance.

"Dirty trick!" Roxie scoffed. "Koffing, attack!" He was too confused to do anything, unfortunately.

"Hey, did you expect anything less?" He retorted. "Magnemite, Thundershock, go for it." Magnemite did so. Koffing was zapped from the attack, and snapped out of the confusion to use Tackle. Magnemite endured the attack, and retaliated with Sonicboom. Koffing, slammed back, went for Assurance again. That seemed to do some okay damage to Magnemite. "Sonicboom, once again!" Caleb ordered, Magnemite doing just that. Koffing was defeated. Next, Whirlipede came out!

"Magnemite, you ready for this?" Caleb asked.

_'Yes. I am ready to do combat.'_ Magnemite answered. It then used Sonicboom to kick things off. Whirlipede dodged agilely, however. Caleb took out his Pokedex and scanned Whirlipede.

**Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokémon, and the evolved form of Venipede. Storing energy for evolution, it sits. But, when predators approach, it moves to stab them with poison spikes.**

"Interesting..." Caleb mused. "But the shock wears away over time. Magnemite, Thundershock!" Magnemite did what it was asked. Whirlipede used rollout to go through it and attack Magnemite. "Supersonic, hurry!" Caleb ordered. Magnemite did that. Caleb doubted it'd be enough to stop Whirlipede, but it was worth a shot. It was however all for naught, as the Bug/Poison type slammed into Magnemite at full speed, and that was enough to knock Magnemite senseless.

Caleb sighed. "Well Magnemite, you got one of 'em at least." Recalling the Electric/Steel type, he looked at Tepig. "You ready for this?"

_'I'm always ready for action!'_ Tepig cheered, stepping onto the battlefield. What resulted in the next two minutes was Tepig laying an utter smack down on the Curlipede Pokemon all to the song that plays when someone rick-rolls you. You know that song; don't deny it. Because let's face it. We're no strangers to love.

After that crushing and humiliating defeat, Roxie handed Caleb the Toxic Badge. He took the badge, and looked as Casey. "You're up, Case."

"With pleasure." The older grinned, calling out Embrace, going back on his promise of having to only use his most powerful in dire straits.

Roxie scanned Embrace up and down. "Hey, you wanna have a harder battle? No offense, but you seem much stronger than your brother. A normal battle would be boring, wouldn't it?" Both boys knew that was the truth, so Casey nodded with a grin.

"What do you have that's more challenging than a Koffing and Whirlipede? And thank you. I love a challenge. Last gym leader sent out a Stoutland, and I was fine with that."

"I use three Pokémon, you use up to six. Whoever knocks out all of the opponent's Pokémon wins."

Then he got an idea. "Say...I have a few Pokémon from my past adventures I can use for this battle if you're interested..."

"Go ahead." Roxie nodded.

-B2W2-

Casey returned with two other Poke Balls in his hands, then looked at Zorua, which said it all. 'Can you please give me a helping hand? Just this once, my friend?' Zorua trotted over and Casey asked, "Alright Zorua, wanna start us off and get it over with?"

"Embrace should start..." Zorua muttered, hiding behind Casey. He didn't want to fight.

"Alright buddy. I won't force it upon you." He nodded. "You ready Embrace?"

She giggled a little bit. _"As ready as I'll ever be."_ Koffing shot at Embrace with a Tackle. She took the attack and retaliated with Psychic. Koffing was defeated.

"Next!" Casey had that pride in his voice, but he didn't underestimate Roxie one bit. A Scolipede popped out. Casey's eyes went wide as he didn't know what Pokémon this was. He got out his Pokedex and looked it up.

**Scolipede, the Megapede Pokémon, and the final evolutionary form of Venipede. It clasps its prey with the claws on its neck until it stops moving. Then it finishes it off with deadly poison.**

His eyes were big as saucers as he felt like he was going into shock. Seeing that description made him tense up in fear. Seriously! Dying like that was bad enough, but dying to a bug? That's just humiliating!

_"Shall I act on impulse?"_ Embrace asked.

_"P-p-p-please do..."_ Casey responded. Scolipede shot forward. Embrace threw a few Shadow Ball attacks at Scolipede. Scolipede rolled up into a Steamroller attack, resulting in the Gardevoir being run over by the Megapede. Scolipede stood up. It prepared to use Poison Fang on the downed Embrace Pokémon. **"What the baloney?"** Casey shouted out. "What did Scolipede use, before the Poison Fang?" Scolipede was stopped from maiming Embrace thanks to that.

"Look it up on your Pokedex." Roxie giggled. "It should be recorded there now!"

"Okay, the Poison Fang I expected. What I didn't expect was everything else. Seriously, what in Naga's name happened?" He then went to his Pokedex, and the move was there. "Oh, okay. So that was like Scolipede's signature move. Good to know." Embrace had gotten back up, shaken, and only stirred a little. She tried tossing Scolipede back with Psychic. Scolipede was thrown back, but didn't take much damage, despite having a super-effective move used on it. It must be a god or something. However, despite that illogicality, Scolipede showed it doesn't take crap from anyone and Steamroll'd Embrace down for the count.

"Neeeeext!" Roxie exclaimed, looking happy to have won this round.

**"You're lucky I have some self-control..."** Casey growled as he recalled Embrace. I think Roxie doesn't know she's battling a guy who could be a serial killer. But then again, he's only killed one person so far this month, and that was out of the region…so yeah. "Trapper, avenge your fallen friend!" He shouted, the Flygon in question coming out. You know, Trapper. The Flygon from Casey's first Hoenn trip.

_'What did you say about my friend?'_ The Dragon/Ground wondered, a look of concern in his eyes. Scolipede roared, charging at the Flygon with a Take Down.

"Counter with Dragon Claw!" Casey ordered.

_'FOR EMBRACE!'_ Trapper screamed as he used that move. Scolipede was knocked down, screeching out in pain.

"Hit 'em with Earthquake!" Casey shouted.

Trapper nodded, having a very interesting way to use Earthquake. He flew up, and swooped down, punching the ground to use the aforementioned move. Scolipede was thrown up...but used Rollout in midair.

"Fly under it!" Casey quickly ordered. Trapper then tried to catch Scolipede in midair. "Or you can just do that. Yeah, whatever." The journeyman rolled with it. Scolipede however was spinning way too fast for the Flygon to grab onto, the attack landed on the ground.

_'Probably should have listened to you, Case.'_ The Flygon mused. No matter. He then tried a Rock Slide. Scolipede, still rolling out, evaded through the rocks surprisingly well. Yeah, this is what happens when you put a guy who has no idea about the new Pokémon in the region and slowly finding out he's a fish out of water. That's how Casey feels right about now.

"Try going for a Dragon Claw!" Casey advised. The Flygon did so, getting in the air again and trying to attack from behind. Scolipede used rollout in place to try and damage Trapper even more. "Evade!" Casey shouted. Trapper did what he could to avoid. Trapper evaded, but Scolipede went right into Steamroller, hell bent on squashing the so called Desert Mirage. "Get in the air, buddy!" Casey shouted, the 'Desert Mirage' taking flight to attempt and get out of range. Scolipede stopped and glared at the journeyman, the Pokémon equivalent of giving someone the middle finger.

However, Scolipede would soon learn Casey was having one of his unintelligence spells today. "Finish this up with Dragon Claw!" He shouted, Trapper flying in for the aforementioned move. Scolipede decided to take his chance and use Steamroller one last time. To Casey's disbelief, Trapper seemed to want to throw in the towel due to the attack because it had crushed his hand. No literally. That's what happened. Scolipede cheered and laughed at Casey, though it was on its last legs.

Casey had a blank expression on his face as he recalled Trapper. "Well looks like he's done for now..." He then decided to call out Magby, noticing that Scolipede wasn't in the best shape now.

The journeyman looked up its moves.

**Magby's moves are Smog, Ember, Leer and Smokescreen.** The Pokedex said.

"Alright Magby! Go for an Ember!" Casey shouted, the Magby doing just that. That seemed to do the trick as Scolipede hit the ground with a thud. "This thing looks like a better version of Muk..." Casey mused, looking it up on his Pokedex.

**Garbodor, the Trash Heap Pokémon, and the evolved form of Trubbish. Consuming garbage makes new kinds of poison gases and liquids inside their bodies.**

"Yup, definitely a better version of Muk." Casey confirmed, then asked Roxie, "Is this your toughest Pokémon?" He didn't say he was in a little bit worried, as his two Hoenn aces were down for the count.

Roxie nodded. "And I will beat your remaining four Pokémon with it!"

**"Might be three if Zorua is still scared...but a boss fight's a boss fight!"** He psyched himself up, but honestly Casey doubted Roxie has any idea what the hell he's saying. "Magby, set up with Smokescreen!" Magby did as it was told.

"Swallow up!" Roxie shouted. Garbodor sucked in the smokescreen, leaving Casey to just stare at it.

'Yup, I'm getting me one of these things.' He thought. "Stockpile?" Casey wondered aloud. Then thought of something else. "Uh...Leer?" Magby tried that, but looking at their sizes, one could wonder how a Magby tried to look intimidating to a Garbodor, which is roughly 50 times its size.

"Venoshock!" Roxie shouted. Garbodor unleahsed a weakened version of the attack, accounting for Magby's lower level. And size.

"Dodge it!" Casey ordered. The Live Coal Pokémon was now running around, trying to dodge the Venoshock. The Venoshock was pretty fast, making Magby trip and fall flat on its face. The small fire type struggled to get back up. Casey then looked at his Pokedex and realized something. "I think that does more damage when the target is poisoned...so why are you refraining from that?"

"Why waste PP on a small fry?" Roxie grinned.

'_I am NOT a-'_Magby however was cut off by a shadow looming overhead, looking up in terror seeing Garbodor body slammed it into the stage.

"Haha! First one down! Neeeext!" Roxie jeered. It took every fiber of Casey's being to refrain from acting violent. But he regained his composure, and turned to Zorua. The fox whimpered a little bit and walked out on the battlefield as Casey was recalling Magby.

"Now let's see what you got…" Casey mused, looking at Zorua's moves.

**Zorua's moves include Pursuit, Fake Tears, Fury Swipes and Night Daze.**

"Alright, go for a Fake Tears...I guess." He felt like a jerk doing that, but all's fair in love and war. (Except committing war crimes to become a thing now.)

Zorua started sobbing uncontrollably as Garbodor was about to attack. The Trash Heap Pokémon stopped short, looking concerned. At that moment, Zorua slammed it with a pursuit, acting on instinct. The fox then jumped back and landed agilely, giggling.

"Hihihihihi!"

Casey chuckled at that, having regained his composure. "Someone give this Pokémon an Emmy!" He joked.

**"A bit late for that, don't you think?"** Caleb asked.

"Cork it, little bro." Casey frowned. "Zorua, use Night Daze!" Suddenly all the lights went out. It was now pitch black. Not even a light orb conjured by Casey himself could do anything to lift the darkness.

**"This'll end beautifully."** Caleb snarked. Suddenly, there were a lot of slashing sounds, and then the darkness lifted. Garbodor was heavily damaged as Zorua jumped away from him.

"Use Pursuit and wrap this up!" Casey told Zorua. 'Told you this wouldn't be bad.' He thought. Zorua then used Pursuit to bring Garbodor down and win Casey the Toxic Badge! "I will say this." Casey admitted. "For someone that can down my Gardevoir and make my Flygon submit is a person not to be taken lightly. And you proved that to me today." He then took the badge.

Roxie smiled. "You were pretty good yourself!" Someone suddenly ran in.

"Quick! Roxie! Danger! There's danger at the harbor!"

"What?! My dad's there!" Roxie dashed out.

Hailey blinked. "I wonder what that's all about... I'll go check it out too." She followed after Roxie.

"Is he back from his audition already?" Caleb got a metal baseball bat out, called out Tepig, and ran to the harbor, Casey following. When they reached the harbor, they found Hailey and Roxie facing off against five neo team plasma grunts. Zorua stopped short.

"You have a history with these people, right?" Casey innocently asked.

"Nu UH... My instincts just scream whenever I see them..." Zorua jumped on Casey's head.

"Well you don't have to worry about them, I think." Caleb mused. "Tepig, help 'em out, would you?"

_'CHARGE!'_ Tepig shouted.

When they reached the dock, Roxie was arguing with the Neo Team Plasma grunts. Hailey glanced at the brothers.

"They aren't gonna give way... We're gonna have to take 'em. How about you two use your starters for this one? You are the other two who got them, right?"

"Well yeah, but now that Caleb's holding his baseball bat..." Casey thought. Then rolled his eyes. "Pokémon aren't the only things we use for fighting."

"Err... Maybe we shouldn't fight like that... The popo wouldn't like that..." Hailey sweatdropped.

The journeyman's eyes glinted with a bit of anger, but mainly excitement. "Oh good, more of 'em." He deadpanned. Then he called out Snivy as well.

_'I was enjoying a nice nap inside my Poke Ball.'_ He informed.

"Don't care. You're helping us out."

_'Whatever.'_ Snivy just looked at the grunts. _'Alright freakshows, let's see what you got.'_

Hailey produced a Poke Ball and sent out an Oshawott. "How about a triple battle?" She suggested. Three grunts attacked Hailey, Casey, and Caleb, while Roxie took on the other two. The three sent out Elekid, Magby, and Magnemite.

"Alright, I'll take Elekid. Magnemite's all yours Caleb. And Hailey, take care of Magby." Casey laid the plan out straight. At least, that's what he wanted to happen. Who knew he had a brain in his head this whole time?

"Tepig, Ember on Magnemite!" Caleb ordered.

"Snivy, Vine Whip on Elekid!" The two Pokémon did as they were ordered.

"Oshawott, Razor Shell!" Hailey commanded. All the attacks hit, defeating all but Elekid. Elekid began cruelly zapping Oshawott, the Sea Otter freaking out.

"Snivy!" Casey shouted.

"Tepig!" Caleb added, both now shouting at the same time,

"Use Tackle, at once!" Both attacks managed to defeat Elekid.

"And now, we get to show off how thorough we can be." Casey grinned. He looked at Caleb, who nodded with him. Those grunts best be afraid. Very afraid. For they have no idea what kind of beast they've awoken.

Arceus and Helix have mercy on them.

Casey had out a war hammer and slammed it on the ground, hoping to knock those three to their feet. **"I'll soften em up Caleb! You swoop in for the KO!"** Casey ordered.

**"Got it!"** The younger responded. The three grunts staggered, falling to the ground. Casey then placed the war hammer down and started firing a few fire wisps at them. Caleb went in and swung at one of the grunts with his bat, although he didn't put his full strength into his swing, aiming to only KO, not kill. The grunts screamed in pain as they were burned from the fire. The first grunt was KOed by blunt force trauma.

"It's amazing how the classics can work sometimes." Caleb mused. He then got out of the way, allowing his brother to take a shot at them.

Casey decided to switch it up, sending a wall of arctic air at the two remaining grunts. "Blizzard!" He shouted. This resulted in the remaining two grunts being frozen solid. He then, just for kicks, formed an orb of light in his hand, and looked at Caleb. "Here's the pitch!" He then threw it at Caleb like a baseball, the latter hitting it at one of the frozen grunts. The ice had shattered, and they were now defeated.

"And, we're good." Caleb smirked, putting the bat away

Casey took a bow, and then looked at Hailey. "Hey, they deserved it."

Hailey shrugged. She had whipped out a Pokedex and was recording data on Tepig and Snivy.

"I'm personally pretty anti-violence on people..." She bent down and offered Tepig a roasted berry. Tepig happily nommed on the berry.

"I've been hoping to do that the second Neo Team Plasma tried taking Embrace from me." Casey told her. "Worth it."

"So these guys are Pokémon thieves." Hailey observed, standing up and stating the obvious.

"Yeah. They have this weird thing about hating trainers for having Pokémon." Zorua said from Casey's head.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Caleb sarcastically remarked. "Okay..." He then looked at Roxie. He wondered if she watched the curb stomp.

Roxie was doing some curbstomping of her own.

"...hey, you guys. You should watch this." Hailey told them. They were already watching now. "When three Pokémon go through mostly the same experiences and share much of their life, they tend to grow at the same times." Hailey added. She pointed at the starters. They were starting to glow...and both boys knew what this meant. Evolution.

Tepig evolved into Pignite, and let out a battle cry. _'I am the greatest!'_

Snivy evolved into a Servine. _'Great. I'm one stage away from losing my arms.'_

_'Hell yeah!'_ The newly evolved Dewott shouted.

Hailey instantly started scanning them on her Pokedex.

-B2W2-

Roxie had finished up her battle. Those two grunts retreated to a boat and zoomed off. The popo showed up and arrested the rest of the grunts. Roxie sighed in relief.

"Glad that's over... But those two thugs managed to retreat to Castelia..." She frowned worriedly. "...hey, can I ask you three to chase after them? I need to stay and look after my gym..."

Both guys nodded. "Sure thing, Roxie." Casey informed. "Now if we can just get a ride there." Suddenly, a boat pulled up followed by slow clapping and a very familiar voice to the both of them.

"Hey look, it's them!" Peanut was an Eevee now, and standing next to him was a 15 year old kid who had a striking resemblance to Casey, minus the outfit. He had on a black fleece over a blue v-neck, gray sweatpants and similar shoes that Casey had.

"Flash!" The boys cheered with glee. "Peanut!"

"You really thought I would have abandoned you two?" He asked in a Jeff Probst impression.

"Flash! Heya!" Zorua waved. Hailey just blinked, not knowing this person.

"Peanut'll bring you all to Castelia! They should still be there!" Peanut promised.

"Plus, there's a gym in Castelia." Zorua pointed out.

Hailey retrieved Dewott and hopped on the ship. The brothers followed shortly afterwards. Once they were all on, the boat took off to their destination.

"So... I'm Hailey." Hailey introduced herself to Flash.

"Name's Flash. I used to narrate for these boys, then I got fired for quitting." He greeted.

"Cool. I'm a trainer, but I'm considering becoming a lab assistant after this region." Hailey replied.

"Got anyone in mind you wanna work for?" Flash wondered.

Hailey shrugged helplessly. "I just decided on it recently... I haven't really thought it through yet..."

"Don't go jumping into something you'll feel you'll regret later on." He advised.

"That's the thing! I think I really want to be a lab assistant, I just want to be able to balance some training too!" Hailey said.

"That's a noble goal I suppose. Just be careful not to burn the candle at both ends." Flash advised.

Hailey nodded thankfully. "I have to think about this... I'll decide after the Pokémon League."

"Might as well. Can't rush your decision." Flash then went to hang out with the brothers.

"Where were you this whole time, Flash?" Caleb asked.

Flash looked around him, then said, "Uh…it's a, long story really."

**CHAPTER 2 END**

(So that's it for this chapter! Be sure to read, follow, favorite, and review! Review if you want to see Casey beat up more Neo Team Plasma Grunts! Lata! –Flash)


	4. Chapter 3 Worlds Apart

(Another day, another chapter! A few things to note about this chapter: STUFF GETS DARK, STARTING THIS CHAPTER. More swearing, blood will start to be present, and the violence will continue. That's just how Casey's life rolls. How can I stop it? Also, there are two new OCs joining the party. Henry and Robyn are owned by Beninja2618, another one of my RP buddies. As for everything else, I only own my trio of OCs.

The Reviews:

SHSL Hope G Komaeda: Yup. Stuff gets real starting here as stated above. That's also where the fun begins. Sadly.)

**CHAPTER 3: Bugging Out in Castelia- Worlds Apart; Medical Emergency!**

"So let me see if I get this straight." Casey started, after Flash told his story. "You were pissed about something going on, and decided to go to the resort I went to in Yoshi Desert without telling us?"

"I can't tell a lie to you boys. I did go out there with Peanut, but honestly? My stress was getting the better of me." Flash sighed. "Look, I still love you two, and maybe once this is all over I'll take you somewhere cool."

Casey rolled his eyes. "Good to have you back." He dully commented.

"At least the gang's all here. Well, save for your girlfriend." Caleb commented.

"I'll call her later."

-B2W2-

When they got to the city, Peanut ushered every one of the boat. "We're heeeeeere!" He cheerily told the group. Zorua frowned upon seeing the city.

"I never liked this city. The bug type gym is here. I'll protect the boat while you guys search the city and stuff."

"What's so bad about it? The gimmick of the gym?" Casey asked.

"I am a dark type. These are bug types...we don't mesh." Zorua growled at the city.

"Yeah, Dark type is weak to Bug for whatever half-assed reason. I didn't make the rules." Flash shrugged. "Point is, Dark types and bugs are like oil and water. Hattfields and McCoys."

"Okay Flash, we get the point." Caleb told him. "Our first priority is to get those Team Plasma thugs."

"How should we go about this?" Peanut tilts his head to the side.

"Let's hope their cliché?" Casey suggested innocently.

"Cliché? Hueh?"

"As in, doing things that you see villains do in other works of fiction?"

"Or you could let me use my narrator's intuition to try and guess where they would be." Flash frowned.

"While Flash's idea is 100% better, I've been trying to use my narrator's intuition, and it isn't working for some reason." Peanut frowned at revealing this fact. Flash however, tried to lighten the mood.

"Wouldn't hurt to give you a little practice." He grinned. "All it takes is a little savviness, and you're golden. Just think of where a group of...anime looking villains, I think they are, could be hiding in a big city like this."

"It's a REALLY big city." Zorua piqued up. "There are a TON of places they could be hiding that are equally like that. You guys have a lot of ground to cover... And it looks like you're doing it manually."

"Hmm...Dark alleys and the sewers seem to me like the most likely places bad guys would hide out." Flash chimed in. "Zorua, you know anywhere in this city that fits that description?"

"You run around enough and you'll find alleys. They're everywhere." Zorua deadpanned. Blame Flash for not knowing anything about the region.

"And as for the sewers?" Flash wondered. He figured they would waste a lot of time and energy searching every alley for two people in this big of city. Zorua shook his head no. "There's got to be a faster way to find them..." Flash then continued to think about how to find them. Hailey told the group that she would split up and look for them herself. Once she departed, they seemed to warm up to the idea.

Soon Flash and the others could see a boy and girl running. They seemed distraught and each had a Pokémon in their arms.

"Hey yo!" Casey called upon seeing them. "Why you running?"

'Who are those people?' Caleb thought to himself. Peanut trotted over to Flash and sat down next to him. The two sixteen year old teens stopped and ran over. They were panting.

"We're running from our families. We can't let them find us." The girl gasped out.

**"Ooh...runaways."** Casey grinned.

**"Casey, say that in regular English, I will stab you."** Flash frowned, then to the teens, "Come with us. And stay as close as possible."

"I suggest that we lead them into the city, then." Peanut suggested. They found out only the brothers and ex-narrator could understand him. "It's easy to lose people in Castelia City."

"My thoughts exactly." Flash agreed, seeing as only Peanut can hear him when he says that. "Seeing as this is a large city, it's only natural that there would be a lot of people in it. So therefore, finding two runaway kids is like finding a needle in a haystack." The Eevee nodded. It pointed toward the city with its nose.

The two newcomers were confused at the second language and inability to understand Peanut. "Uh... what?" The boy asked.

"It's a different language." Caleb told him. "Pay it no heed."

"Come on, follow me and Peanut." Flash told the guys, heading into the city. "And let's try to be discreet about it." They nodded and began following. The Snivy in the girl's arms seemed worried as did the Tepig in the boy's. Flash made sure to have the group stay close to him, and he also was on alert for anyone pursuing their new companions. The ex-narrator wasn't going to let anyone take these two, whoever they may be. His hands were slightly twitchy, almost trying not to call forth his keyblades (yes, he has those). Peanut however, Peanut was acting like a normal Eevee, following Flash closely in the crowds.

Casey decided to break the silence. "So who are you guys?" He asked the two newcomers.

"Henry Jackson."

"Robyn Fox." They introduced before Robyn looked back and saw some people behind them. "I see them! They're going to catch us!" Robyn cried over, fear present in her voice tone.

"Not on our watch they're not." Flash had his eyes narrowed. "We'll lose 'em at the square, let's go!" Casey, Caleb and Flash were already running along. Flash was taking the lead, and the bros were behind Henry and Robyn. Henry and Robyn ran with them.

Henry looked back. "I think we're about to lose them." He said. The guys kept running, the brothers staying behind Henry and Robyn. Flash was still leading the way to the square. Peanut was still following, acting like a normal Eevee still.

"We should hide in a building. If they lost sight of us then they shouldn't be able to follow us inside. They'll think we're still going." Robyn suggested. The trio of guys ducked into a building that they were running by upon Robyn's suggestion, expecting her, Henry and Peanut to follow. They would, and thankfully lose their pursuers.

"We in the clear now?" Flash asked Peanut, having entered the building. After a bit Henry peeked out.

"We lost them." He sighed out. Robyn sighed in relief too.

"Why were you running from them anyway?" Caleb wondered.

"Well you see we both come from very different worlds. Yet at the same time they are so much alike." Robyn started.

"She comes from a rich and sophisticated life while mine is of poverty and commonly. But we both share a desire for Pokémon but my family is too poor to afford for the care of even one Pokémon let alone ourselves."

"And mine only afford those of high class and nobility. But I want a life like Henry's where I'm not expected of almost anything."

"Well I want to be able to have the things normal people can't have. But even though we argue about who has the better lifestyle we do share our love of Pokémon."

"We each found an abandoned Pokémon and decided to take them in. But once our families found out we were told to put them back and we refused to give them up."

"So that's why we ran from home. Me and Broham here."

"And me and my Jade."

"I left home because I wanted to be destined for greatness and not be a small town loser." Casey told them. "And after six and a half years of living through torment, witnessing the deaths of two of my friends' right in front of me, and above all else killing the man responsible, here I am. Casey Stargazer, legendary journeyman in the flesh."

"And I'm his brother and so called prodigy, Caleb Stargazer. I also do a little sorcery on the side." The younger greeted. "And the other guy with us is Flash, our old narrator."

"Vee!" Peanut giggled when Caleb mentioned 'sorcery'.

"Nice to meet you. And thanks again." Robyn said.

"Yes. But we still have a problem. Broham and Jade technically don't belong to us and we don't have any Poke Balls." Henry informed them.

"Hmm...I think Flash can go out and get you two some." Casey told them.

"Yes, I can do that." Flash promised. "Peanut, want to help me find the Pokémon Center here?" Peanut nodded and skipped after the ex-narrator. "Boys, you keep these two company." Flash said. **"And don't let them out of your sight. Understood?"**

The duo nodded in understanding. And so Flash left with Peanut.

"Thanks!" The two shouted happily. The Pokémon shouted with them.

-B2W2-

As Flash and Peanut were searching for the Pokémon Center, Peanut frowned and looked up to Flash. "Hey, Flash... I think we wasted too much time... I can't sense those team Plasma grunts at all in this city..."

"I think they managed to elude Hailey...can't say I blame her." Flash stated. "They must have gone to the next city over."

Peanut shrugged helplessly. "It's too bad... At least there's a gym here, so it's not totally pointless."

"Yes. I know its bug type, so Fire, Flying and Rock types are good for tackling those guys." Flash stated, looking on the positive light of their situation. They arrived at the Pokémon Center, getting the things they needed.

-B2W2-

"...hey. What's with the two kids and the hostile looks?" Hailey had caught up to the group, having found where they were hiding out. Caleb would be the one to explain the situation to her.

"Who are you?" Robyn asked.

"AH. Runaways." Hailey looked at them. "I'm Hailey. I'm traveling with these two."

"Casey and I met her on the boat on the way here." Caleb informed the two others.

"Oh okay. I'm Robyn and that's Henry. He has Broham and I have Jade." Robyn introduced them.

"Nice to meet you." Hailey folded her arms. Something clearly was on her mind, however Casey was oblivious to the fact. Caleb however, kept his mouth shut knowing something was bugging Hailey.

"My main concern is that Robyn's parents are going to offer a ridiculously large reward for her return..." Casey shuddered. "Gods, it'll be the Spiral all over again."

"That won't surprise me." Robyn said.

"Yeah, except this time everyone won't be trying to kill us." Caleb deadpanned. It was at this time that Flash and Peanut had returned to where they were. Hailey would approach the former.

"Flash, before you hand over those Poke Balls, I need to do something real quick." She said.

"Okay then." He nodded and handed her the Poke Balls. Seems his narrator's intuition was turned off at this time.

Hailey walked back into the room, holding the Poke Balls in one hand and one of her own in another. "You two. You want to become trainers, right? That's why you ran away from your home?"

"What will you do to the Poke Balls?" Henry asked.

"I'm sorry kill?" Robyn asked Caleb.

"When we were in the Spiral, there was a map that led to a fabled island of gold that everyone in the world would do whatever it took to obtain it." The younger explained. "Even homicide was a viable solution to obtaining that map. Though, we never resorted to such options."

"...I'm sorry, but I have trouble believing that. You'll have to prove to me that you deserve to train your own Pokémon." Hailey said. "Running away... Does that show dedication, or foolishness? How do you REALLY feel?"

Hailey called out her Dewott, and tossed him the empty Poke Balls. He caught them easily, looking poised.

"My Dewott will guard those...Casey, Caleb, would you help me with this? Only you two can do it."

Casey frowned. "As reluctant as I am to do this to them, I might as well." He called out his Servine. He had been bossed around by women in his early life, so this came as near instinct to him, as much as he hated to do it.

Caleb too was also reluctant. "They threw their lives away for their Pokémon. That's good enough for Case at least...but I'm not so sure about it myself..."

"They have a Snivy and Tepig... I can't think of a more fitting test than fighting a Servine and a Pignite." Hailey said, almost to herself.

Casey wasn't pleased. His eyes would show this if Henry and Robyn would notice. Caleb sighed, and called out Pignite.

**"She's just as headstrong as you Casey."** He snarked, purposely speaking in that tongue just to take a shot at Hailey without her understanding the joke. Henry spoke up in his and Robyn's defense.

"But the lives we have would prevent us from living the way we want to. I can't have Pokémon and she can't choose what Pokémon she would want. Besides, we rescued these Pokémon when someone abandoned them and we cared and treated them behind our families. What more do you need?" Henry asked. It was enough for Casey alright. He just didn't say anything about it in fear of getting insulted and yelled at by Hailey.

"...are you sure, though? Or do you just feel a bit restricted by your parents' ways, so decided to play a little game against their wishes, then abandon your Pokémon to return to your families? Pokémon aren't just a phase, you know. They're living creatures." Hailey asked coldly. She suddenly seemed very angry.

"You're choosing to abandon the life you have had all your life for this. If you don't turn back now, you will NEVER be able to go back. Your parents will not back down, and it will be too late for you to return. Especially you, Henry. This is your point of no return. If your family can't afford one Pokémon, they certainly can't sustain you having a full team of them. It's either become a trainer here, or have your lives.

Think about what I'm saying while you battle Casey and Caleb. It's your first battle as trainers, so take it seriously."

Hailey walked back and stood by her Dewott. Her ending tone made it clear that there was no discussion.

"Wait you want us to fight? But we haven't been training them. They won't stand a chance." Robyn said.

Henry was silent for a moment. "We accept."

"What? But Henry..."

"We don't have a choice. We either fight or never have the chance to follow our dreams. Even if we don't know what they are yet, what we do know is that we want to have Pokémon in our lives. And if this is the only way to make that happen we have no other choice." Henry said placing Broham down. Robyn nodded after thinking and placed Jade down.

Casey could appreciate one thing; Henry had guts. But anger was overriding his emotions, and it would show as his face read 'pissed off' from having bad memories resurface in his mind. Caleb was much more subtle about his anger, but it too was getting the better of him. Flash even was ticked off at Hailey's sudden change in tone. Because this was the first time he's ever seen her like this.

"What should I do Peanut?" He asked, Peanut only being able to hear him. "Should I raise an objection?" Peanut however, was hiding behind the ex-narrator.

"While she's pretty scary... I personally agree with Hailey...These two obviously didn't think about the consequences of their decision... Maybe battling will let them think clearly..."

'Yeah, well Casey didn't think clearly either.' Flash thought to himself. "Actually, Hailey. I don't think the guys want to fight these two." Flash just had to object here. He felt it was time for him to chip in on the choice here. And he wasn't scared of Hailey at all. But most importantly, he knew the boys were reluctant to fight their new friends, thinking that if they lost they would be forced to go back to their old lives. Henry and Robyn waited for things to get underway. But they didn't want to put their friends in a hopeless battle either. They waited for the outcome between the others. Hailey closed her eyes.

"Don't think of it as a test... Think of it as another battle. Just have fun with it. I apologize, but I must ask Casey and Caleb to do this. I cannot battle them myself at this time. My deepest apologies, but... I need for them to do this. Please trust me." She looked at Flash pleadingly. But the ex-narrator was having none of it.

Henry and Robyn nodded. "We understand."

"Don't be afraid. Let us have fun." Henry said.

"Yeah. After all it's our first battle and we feel honored to be battling you two first." Robyn chimed in.

"I know these guys more than you think Hailey. I narrated for these guys, and I know that Casey's growing to the point where he can pick his own fights." Flash continued. "In fact, knowing him right now, he would outright refuse to fight this battle!" Caleb blinked. What was- oh yeah...THAT detail.

"Guys...it's true." Casey admitted to Henry and Robyn. "I just don't want to do it. Nowhere in my heart can I fight you guys."

"While that may be true, I must insist. Unless this battle is fought, Henry and Robyn will not be prepared for Pokémon training. A decision must be made here." Hailey said coolly.

"Please." Henry begged.

"Don't reject us. We must do this." Robyn pleaded. They were practically begging them now, but Casey still didn't want to do it.

Flash just glared at Hailey. "You're forcing a kid that did the same thing as these two and ran away, to fight a battle he obviously doesn't wish to partake in? A kid who has not only witnessed the death of his Marshtomp and one of his closest friends, that said closest friend acting as a maternal figure, die right in front of him, and be tormented for six years by a guy who felt good making people suffer? Or did you merely not know any of this? Because I am his witness. That's why I got fired. I was sick of not being able to prevent any of the tragedy. I was powerless to do anything but give advice ever since the Sprout Tower incident back when he was in Johto, and I was hired as his narrator. And now, here I am." Casey hung his head. Caleb put a hand on his shoulder. Both guys didn't want to have that revealed, but they knew if Flash was tearing into someone with one of his famous speeches of trying to tell someone they suck, he holds no quarter. The two would-be trainers stayed silent as their heads drooped. They had no idea.

Hailey closed her eyes, and then snapped them open. "As you wish." She stepped forward, pushing past the brothers. "I overstepped. My apologies." She wasn't really sorry. Dewott followed her and stood in front of her so it was facing off against Snivy and Tepig. "Your fight will be against Dewott. If the efforts of both of your Pokémon together cannot defeat Dewott, then...Humph. Also, be careful not to hit the Poke Balls that Dewott holds. They could become useless. Attack when you're ready."

-B2W2-

Flash then looked at Hailey. **"Seems you're beyond reason."** He frowned. And at that point, he was just done with this argument and walked out, flustered and upset. Peanut was fearing for his life at this moment, hiding behind Flash.

"But what Hailey is saying makes sense... don't hurt me, Casey... I don't want to die..."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Casey told Peanut. But deep down, he was pretty pissed off. Flash however, seemed to be thinking of something. Peanut was still fearful about this whole ordeal.

**"Get ready to do something, Case."** Flash told him.

**"What're you planning?"** The older brother asked with a grin.

**"You'll see."**

"As much as I would advise using our usual methods to get what we want, shouldn't we at least assume they aren't going to lose?" Caleb suggested.

Casey nodded, while Flash shrugged.

"Who said we were using out usual methods?" Flash asked him. The trio was already outside, all varying in visible anger from their companion Hailey. Not one of them has seen this abrasive side to her at all. Peanut followed them.

"Um... Why are you guys so mad? I think I missed something..."

The boys were still upset, Flash speaking up. "I have a better idea." Flash said, now away from the building in which the battle was taking place.

"Buying more?" Casey wondered.

"Great minds think alike." He then said to Peanut, "Well, see, we don't actually agree with Hailey right now, and seeing as Robyn's parents might give out a reward for her return, who's to say Hailey won't turn them in for that?"

"...okay, first of all...Do you understand why Hailey is acting how she's acting? Because from what you said you don't seem to... There's an important reason that I actually think some of you guys would relate to if you realized what it was..." The Eevee narrator asked them.

"I thought she would feel bad that I witnessed death first hand." Casey then began to think about what that was.

Peanut then decided to spell it out for them. "Caleb, you sometimes feel like you were dragged into adventuring without a choice because Casey carted you off when you were younger, right?" Caleb thought about that, then nodded. "Hailey feels that the same thing happened to these kids, more or less. They were thrown into a runaway adventure because their parents suddenly discovered their Pokémon. They didn't REALLY have a choice in the matter. Hailey's trying to get them to think on their decision, and make sure if it's the right one. She's going to give them Poke Balls no matter the outcome of the battle, but it's really for them to see what they abandoned their lives for... This is a road where everything is all or nothing for them. If they choose to return to their lives, they have to give up their Pokémon forever. They need to think on that decision REALLY hard before they actually decide. Hailey thought that if she didn't step in, they wouldn't do that. She DOES seem to have SOME issues going on... She's been acting weird since she was on the boat... And she doesn't need to be this aggressive about it..."

"Wait, why didn't you lead off with the part about them just being handed the Poke Balls to start off with?" That thought seemed to take Caleb by surprise the most.

"I have the mind of like... A ten year old. I'm bad with speeches." Peanut responded.

"So you're telling us she's possibly hiding something?" Flash asked. "Now that, is something I'd like to know about..."

-B2W2-

Henry and Robyn would kick off the battle. "Okay Broham, start things off with Defense Curl!" Broham did so and rolled up to raise his defense.

"Jade, use Growth." Jade seemed to buff up which increased her Attack and Special Attack.

Hailey held out her hand. "Growl. Start simple." Dewott unleashed a Growl. The two Pokémon's Attack fell.

"Broham, Tail Whip!" Broham flipped around and swung his tail back and forth. Dewott used Growl again. This time the growl got to Broham but not Jade. In fact Jade wasn't seen anywhere. Dewott suddenly placed the Poke Balls in its mouth and pulled out its scallops.

"Jade grab those scallops with your Vine Whip!" Suddenly two vines came from a light above them as they grabbed onto Dewott's scallops. Dewott instantly slashed at the vines before grabbing them and yanking hard, trying to pull Jade to her. Jade hissed at the pain and grabbed the light with her hands to hang on. While she acted as a diversion,

"Quick! Tackle!" Henry shouted out. Broham then went charging in and slammed into Dewott's gut. Dewott took the hit. It released the vines and flipped gracefully in midair. It sheathed its scallops, caught the Poke Balls in its hand, and landed. It immediately released a Hydro Pump at Broham. Like a boss.

Broham wasn't fast enough and took the hit. The fire pig was sent flying back into a wall. "BROHAM! Please get up!" Henry called over. Broham struggled but eventually did so. Jade hopped down to check on him. Broham seemed to appreciate that.

"Okay Jade. Now use Tackle!" Robyn shouted. Jade quickly responded and charged aiming for Dewott's chest.

"Aqua Jet." Hailey said shortly. Water surrounded Dewott as it shot forward to counter the other Pokémon's physical move. The two collided and began pushing against each other. But this test of strength wasn't helping the grass type as she was seen being pushed back slowly. Dewott put more power into the Aqua Jet, but it was still holding back power.

"Now Jade! Attract!" She shouted. Jade then looked up as she was pushed back and sent some hearts which floated into Dewott. The hearts found their mark…but did absolutely nothing.

"Dewott is a chick. Sorry." Hailey said evenly. "Razor shell!" Dewott pulled out its scallops and complied with the command. Jade was knocked back. Even though the typing wasn't bad the level difference did do a great deal of damage.

"Broham, Ember." The Tepig complied and fired a torrent of tiny flames.

"Vine Whip, go." Jade quickly lashed out her whips at Dewott. Dewott took the Poke Balls in her hands and just took the attacks. She unleashed a Hydro Pump afterward. The two Pokémon were pushed back and slowly stood.

"They can't take much more, especially Broham." Robyn said.

"We need to attack together. Have Jade throw Broham." Henry responded.

"What?"

"Trust me. Then go for a Tackle."

She nodded and ordered Jade to do so.

Jade used her vines to throw Broham so he landed on the wall before he pushed off and went for a Tackle from behind as did Jade from in front.

"Hm. Intriguing. Trying to close Dewott in...However. Dewott, use Aqua jet on the ceiling." Dewott did so. The two missed Dewott and ended up colliding into each other. Henry facepalmed at his plan's failure and Robyn gasped. Dewott landed behind them and unleashed a Hydro Pump meant to end both of them in one shot. Broham and Jade were sent flying and would have hit the walls if Henry and Robyn didn't intercept them and get pushed into the wall themselves.

"Broham, are you okay?" Henry asked worried.

"Please Jade answer me." Robyn pleaded.

The two Pokémon groaned before they fainted. As they did the two teens fell to their knees and held their Pokémon close. They lost.

Hailey walked over, standing over them.

"This is what the Pokémon world is about. If you take this path, you WILL be defeated. Crushingly sometimes. And that won't always be okay. There are evil people in this world who will hurt you if you can't defend yourself. If this is too much for you, go back to your families. Now. Because there's no turning back from here..."

A Poke Ball landed in each trainer's lap.

"I'll let you decide. No one can make this decision for you. Not your parents, not me, not even your Pokémon. We can only tell you what we think is best. So... Can you make a decision?"

The trio, having returned from cooling off, seemed to walk in at that moment when she said that last sentence. "I knew you'd come around." Casey suddenly said.

The two looked to each other before grabbing the Poke Ball they were each thrown. They looked scared. They didn't know what to do. They thought of the consequences for both decisions and were having a hard time choosing. Hailey turned to Casey wordlessly.

"Don't worry, we're over hating you." Casey told her. "But I wanna ask something. Why are you acting like this, aside from the reason you told us?" Flash just gave her a neutral look, not knowing what he wanted to say.

-B2W2-

Earlier…

"She's definitely hiding something... But it's something on an emotional level, I think. It was like she was concealing her emotions..." Peanut theorized, commenting about Hailey's recent behavior.

"You mean like putting on a fake aura?" Casey wondered.

"Erm... Well...You know when you're feeling bad, but you don't want people to know? It's like that. She's feeling something, but she doesn't want people to know she feels that way." Peanut stated.

"I'm thinking we might have to make her crack..." Flash thought aloud. Peanut agreed, commenting on how Hailey's new found persona is rather weird.

"So weird in fact, I'm gonna ask her about it." Casey grinned. "I mean, I still like her and all. So why should she bother keeping secrets?" So Casey and the other three began walking back to the building they were at.

"You know Flash, I hope that Robyn's parents don't put a bounty on our heads for this." Caleb sarcastically remarked.

"Don't jinx it." The ex-narrator warned.

-B2W2-

Now back in current time…

"...I will not see someone walk down a hard path without warning." Hailey said emotionlessly.

"No, there's a better reason why." Flash objected. "And you're strange behavior is proof of that for me."

"I've made my decision." Robyn said.

"So have I." Henry chimed in. Hailey turned to the two, ignoring the journeyman and ex-narrator. The teens looked to each other and nodded they the set down the Pokémon and stepped back. At first Broham and Jade were worried but then the two lightly tossed the Poke Balls which quickly captured the two. They then picked their respective Poke Ball up with determined looks on their faces. Hailey stared at them silently.

"If we want to discover our dreams then we can't be held back by our families. They have their own visions of what's to become of us and we both know it's something we don't want." Henry said.

"And we know that the Pokémon we meet will ensure that we discover those dreams and live them with our Pokémon by our sides. We understand the consequences of our choice and we are willing to risk it if it leads to our agency and dreams." Robyn added.

Hailey closed her eyes. "Be prepared for a lot of hardships on the way to realizing your dreams...I would suggest going to the Pokémon center about now."

-B2W2-

When Henry and Robyn returned from the Pokémon Center, Hailey flat out was ignoring our main trio. She apparently didn't want to talk about her mood swings.

"Come on Hailey. Talk to us." Caleb egged her on. "I really don't want to force it out of you, but if we have to..."

"Hey guys. We're back." Henry said.

"Don't touch me." Hailey coldly informed the sorcerer. "Now that we're all here, we should discuss our next move."

**"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it."** He remarked.

"Did you guys find the Neo Plasma grunts?" Hailey asked. Flash thought that Hailey was looking for them in the first place.

"My guess is that they went to the next city over." Flash told her.

"Wait Neo Plasma? I've heard of those guys." Robyn brought up.

"That's what I was thinking too." Hailey nodded in agreement with Flash, causing the ex-narrator to crack a grin. "What do you know about them? None of us are from Unova."

"What Hailey said is true." Casey added, listening intently. His mind though was still set on beating the living crap out of those grunts that got away.

"Well I know they are trying to liberate Pokémon from people because they think we are making them sad and hurt. I've been told they only try to convince people to release their Pokémon through pep talks but I have also heard they attack those who resist." Robyn explained.

"Say... uh why don't we go and try to catch a Pokémon? We can get more experience and make some new friends." Henry suggested.

"Well we did encounter some at Virbank City..." Then Caleb went into rather meticulous detail about what he and his brother did to the three that they fought back there.

"I see. We'll stop them at all costs, then. No one should be going around attacking trainers." Hailey said. "You two definitely need to catch more Pokémon. The others can do what they want, but I for one have no need of more Pokémon. I'm ready to challenge the gym here and move along."

"Wow. That must have been horrible." Robyn said. Henry didn't respond to that.

"Horrible? I was given permission to beat those punks into submission!" Casey laughed. "It was great."

"Then again, they did try taking Embrace..." Flash reminded.

"Which reminds me, Caleb and I got to make a stop at the Pokémon Center real quick..." The journeyman realized.

"So do you mind coming along with us after you guys stop at the Pokémon Center?" Henry asked Caleb and the others.

"Sure, we'd love to." Caleb nodded.

-B2W2-

The party was now searching Castelia City for potential Pokémon teammates. "I can't wait for a new friend." Robyn said.

"Yeah, I want to capture any Pokémon right now." Henry added. The trio was just following Robyn and Henry around now. The two kept searching for a Pokémon. Peanut skipped after his 'trainer'. The first Pokémon they encountered was a Trubbish.

"What's that?" Casey wondered. Caleb got out his Pokedex to scan Trubbish.

**Trubbish, the Trash Bag Pokémon. Wanting more garbage, they follow people who litter. They always belch poison gas.**

"Looks to me like the basic form of Garbodor." Flash commented.

"That's pretty freaky." Henry said.

"Well I think it suits you well." Robyn said.

Henry flinched. "What?"

"Oh nothing. Just try to catch it."

"Fine I will. Broham I choose you!" He shouted throwing Broham out of his ball.

"Now use Ember!" Broham did so. Trubbish was knocked back. It unleashed the attack Smog.

"From what I saw of Garbodor, it's a tough customer Henry!" Casey encouraged.

"This will be easy." Henry said before Broham was hit.

"I'd pay attention to the fight." Robyn took a jab at Henry verbally, smiling as she did so.

"Oh right. Broham, Tackle!" Henry commanded. Broham then went in for a speedy Tackle. Trubbish unleashed an Acid Spray as the Fire Pig Pokémon came at him. He was hit and ran into a tree.

"Broham!" He shouted as the Tepig laid there his eyes swirling from running into the tree. Robyn sighed.

"Need a hand?" Caleb offered. As this was happening, Trubbish was trying to escape.

"No we got this. Broham get up and use another Ember!" Henry called over.

Broham soon shook off the daze he was in and fired the small balls of flame at the trash bag-like Pokémon. Trubbish was hit. It used Tackle. "Dodge it and counter it with your own tackle!" Broham quickly did so and struck back. Trubbish ended up colliding with Tepig, so they hit each other with Tackle and were both knocked out. "Oh man." Henry moaned.

Robyn sighed. "I can't believe you let that happen."

Henry scowled as he picked up his fainted Pokémon. "Oh yeah? I'd like to see you do better."

"I will." Robyn said as she began looking around for a potential Pokémon partner.

"I don't see the problem in Henry still trying to catch it." Casey said to Flash.

"Eh, his thoughts, not yours." The ex-narrator deadpanned.

"I agree, I think he can still catch it... he's really a newbie..." Peanut deadpanned.

"His loss, our gain, right?" Caleb mused, looking at his brother. "I think you might want a Trubbish."

"Why not?" He combed through his pockets to see if he had a spare Poke Ball. After a while, he found one and tapped Trubbish on the head with it. Upon catching it, Peanut threw around a bunch of confetti for whatever reason.

"Nice." Casey beamed, then looked at Henry with a cheeky grin. **"Eh, not gonna tell him."** He decided to be a troll and wait till it was time to reveal it to Henry that they caught. Currently, Robyn was fighting a Scraggy with Jade. She failed to catch it.

"Aww man." Robyn moaned.

"Guess you're not any better than me." Henry said smirking. It was at this time there was a Minccino around, dusting things with its tail feverently.

"Oh wow so cute!" She squealed.

Henry looked at the Minccino with a tilted head and raised eyebrow. "You think that is cute?" Minccino looked very offended by that comment Henry made.

_'Of course I'm cute!'_ She folded his arms in annoyance. Robyn looked equally offended.

"SHE IS VERY ADORABLE! And I want her." She said smiling and stepping towards her.

_'Well at least one of you has taste.'_ Minccino winked at Robyn in a friendly manner, but then got in a battle stance. _'But rules of engagement and all.'_

Robyn quickly called Jade over and told her to prepare for another battle. "Minccino we challenge you!" Robyn called over.

'_Hope you're ready to lose.'_ Snivy winked at the wild Pokémon.

_'I accept your challenge, outlander! May the best Pokémon win!'_ Minccino declared. She started off by using Sing.

"Cover your ears!" Robyn shouted over the singing. Jade quickly did so before she got too sleepy. Peanut however, was too slow and slowly began sawing logs. Flash really wasn't bothered by the singing, but noticed Caleb was fast asleep.

"Now I wish Ibuki was here." He muttered.

"Hey, I never really got to scan this." Casey thought, scanning the Minccino.

**Minccino, the Chinchilla Pokémon. Minccino greet each other by grooming one another thoroughly with their tails.**

Flash was going to make a comment about Casey's mother, but decided against it. Minccino noticed that Jade let her guard down and began to move in for the dreaded move we've seen have devastating potential in the anime: Tickle. Jade fell to the ground laughing as she was tickled.

"Jade throw her off with Vine Whip." Jade attempted to grab and throw Minccino off her. Minccino was pushed off, but she was still somewhat close enough to attempt Tail Slap. Jade was slapped and knocked back. She growled.

"Jade, Growth then use Tackle!"

Jade did so boosting her stats then going in for the full on tackle. Minccino was knocked back from the attack, a little winded from the hit. So in retaliation, she used Swift on her opponent. Jade tried to dodge but ended up hit. Robyn called out to ensure she was alright. Jade nodded and Robyn nodded back. She then told her to use a Vine Whip to hold Minccino. Minccino was grabbed, struggling and writhing to get free. Jade then threw her on a tree, to the ground, and then up in the air where she released the wild Normal type. She then decided to finish this off by slamming her vine down and sending the Pokémon back to the earth. It would soon occur to the group that Minccino suffered enough blunt force trauma to be KO'd. She was glad to be alive. "Um... Jade? That wasn't what I asked." Robyn said noticing this.

Jade shrugged with a small laugh. '_Ehehe oops?'_

Robyn sighed "Well let's catch it." Robyn said before she rubbed her Poke Ball and chucked it at the Minccino.

1…

2…

3…

Success! Robyn caught a Minccino that may or may not have brain damage! "Yay! We caught Minccino!" Robyn shouted happily. Jade jumped and cheered with her.

"Well congratulations. How does it feel to show up your friend?" Henry asked sarcastically while slow clapping. The brothers and narrator however, were fast asleep.

"HEY! DID YOU THREE SERIOUSLY SLEEP THROUGH MY FIRST CAPTURE?!" Robyn shouted almost seeming to get bigger anime style with a frustration mark on her forehead. Yes, yes they did. And they're all heavy sleepers. Hell, Casey could sleep through a thunderstorm and wake up the next morning as if nothing happened if he was really passed out. Some nights however, he was a light sleeper. Today was not one of those days for the latter case. Henry sighed before walking off while Robyn asked Jade to thrash the three sleeping beauties with Vine Whips galore.

"Yeah, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Flash warned in a monotone voice.

The frustration mark was still there as her arms were bunched up her sides and trembling. "I was hoping to see what your thoughts on my battle and first capture were." She growled through clenched teeth.

"Um, I'm just going to say it as simple as I can: If you wake him up and he doesn't want to wake up, he gets somewhat violent." Flash explained to her. "But hey, we saw. Sort of..."

"Oh really? Then tell me what you saw exactly?" She asked tapping her foot. The Snivy copied her.

Flash then described pretty much what happened, relying mainly on his narrator's intuition and just for kicks, topped it all off with, "And...I think your Minccino has brain damage."

Robyn eyed him before she felt Jade tugging at her. She looked down and saw Jade pointing where Henry use to be. "Hey. Where did Henry go?"

"I think he went off to go catch something." Caleb shrugged. "He didn't seem too happy about the whole 'I didn't catch Trubbish' thing."

"Speaking of which what happened to that Trubbish?" Robyn asked.

"Oh, Casey caught it." Flash informed. Robyn facepalmed.

"Casey liked the look of Garbodor back in his Virbank gym battle, so he thought it'd be worth it." Caleb sighed.

"But Henry will be upset to see the Pokémon he took out was captured by you." Robyn said.

That's the point, Flash thought to himself. "He'll get over it, hopefully." The ex-narrator shrugged.

Casey then started to wake up, and see the marks left on his face from the Vine Whips. He did NOT look very happy to Robyn.

"Oh Casey... uh... ehehe... sorry." Robyn said nervously seeing his mad expression.

He glared at her with a glare almost similar to the Luigi Death Stare. "The only reason I'm holding back my fury is because you didn't know." He growled. "So let this be a warning. Don't. Ever. Wake me up. When I want to sleep. Got it?"

"I'll be sure to remember that." Robyn said.

Then Casey went back to his cheery personality. "Okay! Just be sure not to do it again!"

Flash sweatdropped. **"And to think I came from this clown..."** And that was just sugar-coating it. Flash had a plethora of names to call Casey, but he opted against it.

"Hello there! Are you kids trainers?" A Team Plasma Grunt approached Casey, Robin, Caleb, and Flash.

"You got it." She said before looking to the grunt. "Yes."

Casey turned around and clasped his hands together. A sword made from aura formed and he held it in his right hand. "I'm also a journeyman and somewhat of a psycho." He answered.

"Well I would but my team is in need of healing." Robyn told the grunt. Flash however, decided to mess with this grunt a little. The trio of guys looked at each other. Flash commented with this.

"Be lucky, that Casey isn't pulling his gun on you." That comment was directed toward the grunt.

"...oh. You're criminals, then?" The grunt stepped away from Casey, taking Flash's comment seriously. "I'll just call the police, then..."

"NO! We are not criminals." Robyn shouted. Caleb placed a hand on her shoulder as a way of telling her to remain calm.

"Oh far from it, sir." Flash chuckled. "He's leagues from a criminal. In fact, he doesn't even use real bullets." Because as far as the ex-narrator used, Casey used holy light to form bullets.

"Then why did he just threaten me with a gun...?" The man asked.

Flash shrugged. "Actually he didn't. I just told you you're lucky that he's not going to do that."

"...so, does he have a habit of pulling guns out on people?" The man was rather confused with where Flash was going with this.

"Oh, he uses his magic more often than his revolver." Flash answered. "As for me...well..." He had a hard time of trying to explain it to him, and didn't even bother with the explanation.

Casey just smirked. "Caleb's the better shot compared to me."

**"Are you trying to get us in trouble?"** The younger rolled his eyes. The man blinked, having decided to just get back to the earlier point of discussion.

"...so, do any of you want to battle, or not?"

"You guys made the biggest mistake when you tried kidnapping Embrace from me...**I'd rather beat you to a pulp." **Casey shrugged. "Or are you gonna try and steal our Pokémon?"

"...uuuuum..." The man blinked in confusion.

"Um this isn't a Neo Plasma Grunt." Robyn pointed out.

Flash then explained what happened back in Virbank City. "In other words, he wants to beat the living crap out of Team Plasma for trying to abduct his best friend Pokémon."

"...AH. Previous grunts ruin my job." The grunt sent out a Darumaka.

"I don't think we can blame you." Caleb felt a little bit of sympathy. Then sent out Pignite.

_'Oh boy! Bad guys!'_ Pignite laughed, completely oblivious to the fact that this grunt was not a bad guy in any way. Darumaka unleashed a Flame Wheel.

"Go Caleb!" Robyn and Jade cheered. Pignite braced for impact. The Darumaka made contact, but Pignite, being a fire type, almost seemed to absorb the impact of the Flame Wheel. And the worst that happened to Pignite is that he was pushed back. He then thrust his arm forward, hoping to whack Darumaka. Pignite knows Arm Thrust! With that, the grunt was defeated, and walked away.

-B2W2-

Meanwhile, Henry was walking down the Route and stopped after a bit. "I'll never be a good trainer. I screwed up that fight with the Trubbish. What chance do I have of making it?" Broham was upset to see his trainer like this and tried to comfort his by rubbing his snout into the boy's hand. Henry smiled a bit at this gesture but it didn't pull him out entirely. Unknown to the duo, there was a Sandile chilling out.

_'Man...This is the life...'_ He mused. Henry looked around not yet noticing the Sandile.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

Sandile heard Henry, and sighed. _'I wonder who I'll meet today.'_ He said to himself. Sandile saw Henry, and began walking towards him. _'Hey you.'_ He said.

"What the? Did you just talk?" Henry asked the Sandile.

_'Uh yeah. Last I checked we can talk, but for some reason we only talk by saying our names. It's ridiculous.'_ Sandile nodded.

"Whoa a Sandile. But what does it want?" Henry looked at it.

_'Eh, you know. Just chilling.'_ Sandile was just musing to himself at this point.

_'But is there something we can do for you?'_ Broham asked stepping forward. A Sewaddle suddenly appeared and used Razor Leaf on Sandile. Let's just say the Desert Croc Pokémon didn't expect that.

_'Whoa, hey!'_ Sandile jumped away. _'What's your problem, bug?'_

_'Trainer's order!'_ Sewaddle hissed, trying to be intimidating, but it was just too cute. A Neo Team Plasma grunt came into sight.

"Sewaddle, another razor leaf on it!" Sewaddle did so. But Sandile got out of the way again, then took up Broham's offer.

_'Oh not these clowns...'_ He looked at Broham. _'Yeah, beating this fool sounds about nice. You mind helping a brother out?'_

"Hey leave that Sandile alone!" Henry shouted.

"It's a wild Pokémon. I'm allowed to catch a wild Pokémon, aren't I?" The grunt asked, ordering another attack from his Sewaddle.

"But I was gonna challenge it."

Sandile just glared at him. _'And say I decided to join up with this trainer right here.'_ He went over to Henry. _'What do you think of that?'_

The grunt however, did not care. "Too bad. Speed counts. Razor Leaf!" Sewaddle did so. Sandile kept dodging.

_'Heyo!'_ He shouted to Broham. _'Do something!' _Sandile soon realized he did not have to dodge as Henry took the Razor Leaf as he protected the Sandile. Broham looked pissed at them hurting Henry and used Ember on Sewaddle. Sewaddle was defeated. The grunt scowled.

"Know your place!" He sent out a Panpour next.

"Oh great. Not a water type. Broham, Tackle!" Broham did so charging forward.

"Water Gun!" The grunt ordered. Broham was hit before his Tackle made contact.

"Hang in there buddy! Use Defense Curl!" Henry ordered. Sandile however, was pissed.

_'Alright, screw it! We're going street rules!'_ Sandile roared. Panpour unleashed another Water Gun. Sandile used Dig to avoid the attack. Broham wasn't so fortunate in dodging but could withstand it better thanks to his defenses.

"Now Tail Whip." Panpour's defense lowered, but it used water gun again. It was at this time that Sandile popped up from the ground in surprise attack, slashing at Panpour with his claws. _'I hate you water types!'_ He shouted. The grunt was now defeated, and ran away crying. Sandile breathed a sigh of relief.

Henry then walked to the Sandile. "Hey little guy. You okay?" Henry asked concerned.

_'Oh, aside from the fact some nut tried to take me, I'm doing great.'_ He nodded. _'Say, can I come with you? I'm afraid another clown like him will come around.'_

"What is it?" Henry asked before he looked down at one of his empty Poke Balls. "Do you want to be our partner?" Henry asked. Broham looked excited by this.

Sandile nodded. _'Anything to get away from those creeps.'_ Henry smiled.

"Welcome to the team." He said as he held the Poke Ball out to the Sandile. Sandile placed his palm on the button of the Poke Ball, allowing himself to be sucked in.

1...

2...

3...

Success!

"YES I GOT SANDILE!" Henry shouted happily as Broham jumped up with Henry and cheered with him.

-B2W2-

Back with the others, they were locked in a debate on where Henry was. Robyn looked over at Flash. "What makes you think I'm worried? I just don't want him causing a ruckus." She claimed defensively, folding her arms.

"Whatever." Caleb smirked. "You do you."

"I DO NOT!" She shouted, getting really defensive over the topic of their relationship. At this time Henry was seen far away, casually walking towards them from behind Robyn.

"Hey look, there he is." Flash casually pointed out, noticing Henry coming back.

Robyn turned around and looked upset though she was relieved. She marched over to him as he got closer. "Where have you been? Everyone was getting worried." She said sternly. However, the trio really didn't care about the whole thing, as they knew Henry could fend for himself.

"Wow you sound like my mom." Henry said.

"Well then don't vanish like that!"

**"I wouldn't be surprised if she was."** Caleb snarked.

"Now that's not funny." Flash frowned at the sorcerer's comment.

"What's not funny?" The two asked at the same time.

"Nothing of your concern." The ex-narrator lied.

They both raised an eyebrow and shrugged simultaneously. "Whatever." Robyn said.

"Hey let's head to a Pokémon Center. I need to rest my party up." Henry said.

"Yeah I should too. Wait what do you mean by party?" Robyn asked suspiciously.

"Guess you'll have to find out." Henry said as he began running.

"HEY GET BACK HERE!" She shouted running after him.

"I think we should follow them." Flash rolled his shoulders. So the guys did. Upon arriving at the Pokémon Center, Henry and Robyn handed over their Poke Balls to the lady at the counter, and sat down with the other three.

"So what was in that second Poke Ball?" She asked Henry.

"You'll see once Nurse Joy gets back." Henry said simply as he leaned back to relax.

"Oh come on! You know what mine is tell me yours!" She yelled. Henry just smiled. "UGH! Guys help me out here!" She said to Casey, Caleb, and Flash. Flash closed his eyes and thought about it. The brothers brought their Poke Balls up to the counter as well.

"WELL?!" Robyn shouted at the three of them.

"I would tell you...if I knew." Flash deadpanned.

"I know you don't know. Just help me convince him to tell us." She said to Flash. He sighed, then said,

"Okay. I'll try." And he walked over to Henry to try and 'persuade' him to tell Robyn. Henry just shrugged at him.

"No one is finding out until I get my Pokémon back from Nurse Joy." That was somewhat what Flash needed, seeing as he could make Henry slip up with that fact. The group got their Poke Balls and left the center.

"So?" Robyn asked.

"So what?" Henry asked back pretending to be confused.

She noticed this and glared. "You know exactly what. Your new Pokémon."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Henry said. Robyn growled in frustration and looked to the others.

"You promised, Henry." Flash objected to Henry's sudden confusion. "You promised to tell her after, and I quote 'Nurse Joy gets back'. She already did, so why the sudden hesitation?"

"What do you mean?" Henry asked. Robyn screamed and looked ready to punch him.

Henry laughed. "Okay, okay, I'm kidding." He pulled the ball out and released the Sandile.

'Robyn, feel free to punch him as hard as you can whenever you feel like it.' Flash thought. The brothers just looked on in a bit of neutrality. Mainly because they wanted to go to the next gym.

"Wow. That Sandile is pretty neat." Robyn said as she brought out the Minccino she caught.

"What are we gonna name them?" Henry asked as the two began thinking.

"Why not name them something unique?" Casey suggested innocently.

"Gee, why didn't we think of that?" Henry asked sarcastically.

"I don't know. Probably because you just started wondering what to name them." Flash added his two cents of sarcasm in, deciding to take another shot at Henry. He gave Flash a stern look before he went back to thinking.

Robyn then picked up her Minccino. "Well I said you are very adorable so I think I'll call you Beauty."

"And the way you fought was pretty vicious so... I think I'll call you Vile." Henry said after picking up his Sandile.

"So what do you think?" Henry asked them as they turned to them, holding Beauty the Minccino and Vile the Sandile.

"The names work." Caleb answered. "Easy to remember as well based off their fighting styles as you perceived them."

"Thanks." Henry said. "So what next?"

"Next stop is the gym, of course!" Casey answered. "Let's go!"

"Wait. Do you think we're ready to take on a gym?" Robyn asked, a little shocked by Casey's gung-ho attitude.

"Well I don't know about you, but I am." Casey smirked.

"Um...I think I'll stick with these two. You and Flash can go on ahead." The younger told him.

The two looked at the brother confused. "Why?" Robyn wondered.

"Mainly due to the fact I want to be away from those two for a little bit. They drive me crazy some days." He whispered to Robyn.

-B2W2-

Later we see Casey and Flash outside the gym. "Are you sure you can handle this, Case? Embrace is weak against bugs, after all." The ex-narrator pointed out.

"I'm not gonna use her unless I absolutely need to use her. Okay?" Casey responded. "I'm not that dumb."

"Casey should have enough Pokémon to go up against them without Embrace." Peanut was now awake and with the two.

"So it's three on three?" He asked Peanut.

"Well Servine is also weak against bugs, Case. I think you might have to choose wisely who you send in there." Flash advised.

Peanut had shrugged. "Ask Hailey when we find her. She sounded knowledgeable about it. Besides, she should have challenged by now..."

"And if my gut feeling is right, she should be done right about now." Flash added.

"She said she would wait for us at the gym leader, Flash." Peanut reminded, heading inside.

"Well you heard him Flash, let's go!" Casey headed inside the gym without second thought.

**"This is going to end beautifully."** The ex-narrator smirked, heading inside. When they entered, the first thing they would see is a giant spider web. "Why do I feel like singing that No Doubt song right about now?" He then mused.

"Oh can it, Flash." Casey sighed. "Hey! Anyone know where the Gym Leader is?"

"Probably at the end of the gym…" Peanut hid behind Flash again.

Casey rolled up his shirt sleeve and began to try and figure out the gym's maze.

"You're alright, Peanut." Flash reassured. "What, you think they're ninjas in here?"

"No...We have to walk along the spider web...There's a really long drop to the floor if we fall..." Peanut shuddered.

"Wait...we have to climb that?" Casey and Flash were both dumbstruck.

"Yeah...this is new." The journeyman sweatdropped.

"We know your reputation with taking falls, kiddo. Good thing you got a thick skull, eh?" Flash joked.

**"Dude, that's cold!"** Casey started to climb the web, expecting Flash to follow. Peanut was at a loss for words, following the guys. It was easy to hold on as the web was rather sticky.

Flash sighed, realizing how offensive that was. "Forgive me Case. I just thought you could handle it."

"I'm gonna get back at you for that." He promised. Yup, they be climbing. After some climbing, they heard a strange noise. The guys stopped, and looked around for what that could be. It was getting louder, whatever it was. "Show yourself!" Casey shouted. A Joltik casually jumped on Casey's face. Casey didn't flinch much when the Joltik jumped on his face. "Now I get the feeling you spun this web, little guy." He smirked. He thought it was the cutest thing he's ever seen, what with it being the size of the chibiest chibi.

Joltik used Thundershock. Right. On. His. Face. And did not give a single crap. He winced from the shock, but kept his grip. He then took his left hand off the web to get the Joltik off of him. Flash just watched. He couldn't help but crack a smile. Joltik was smacked off onto the web. It used Thundershock on the web. The web apparently conducts electricity...something the guys learned the hard way. Casey withstood another shock, feeling his grip loosening. Flash, pretty much fed up with that little bug, and removed one of his hands from the web to summon Weapons Triangle.

"Dude, what are you doing!?" Casey screamed.

"Apparently, I think the Gym Leader's a bigger prick than me!" Flash shouted back. "And I won't stand for it!" He didn't want someone to be a bigger prick than him! He'd never live it down! Peanut however, didn't want that to happen. He tackled Flash in the face, causing him to lose grip entirely and fall off the web. Casey jumped off to save his friend from hitting the floor. Oh, and beating up that Joltik also sounded like a good idea to him. Or catching it. Whatever came first? Anyway, when Casey jumped off, he wouldn't need to catch the ex-narrator, as he held Peanut close and casted Aero to stop them from hitting the ground hard.

"It's dangerous to show off powers in the Pokémon world... People will freak, and it kind of messes with the reality of the place if you use it a lot..." Peanut advised.

He desummoned it before anyone else could see. "It's not like I had a choice to use Aero and save us." Casey however, hit the ground hard, landing right on his back.

"THIS. GYM. SUCKS." He loudly stated, mainly saying it out loud to show he was in pain.

"...we all saw that coming... Hm... This is an interesting trap... Put us in a dangerous situation where we can easily be injured, and then put more danger as we go up... This will undeniably be a challenging gym…" Peanut sounded serious about this.

Flash shuddered. "Easily injured? More like easily killed." He then added to himself, **"And I thought Clair's gym was deadly."**

Casey was still in a lot of pain from the fall. He used this tactic before. Act like he was in a lot of pain (only this time, he was in a crap ton of pain), and it either lowers the guard of his opponent, or draw them out from hiding. A Spinarak lowered itself down on a thread, going down to where Casey was. He eyed the Spinarak, and just weakly said,

"Take me to the Gym Leader, buddy..." He knew what Spinarak was capable of. He also knew they evolved into Ariados.

Flash knew this as well, and also knew that Pokémon was also part Poison type. "Okay, is this gym leader a psychopathic murderer? I want to talk to this guy right now!" It was clear his frustration was growing. Spinarak lowered itself onto Casey and started poking him. Not attacking. Not poisoning. Just poking.

"I doubt it... Maybe there's a good reason." Peanut rationalized. "Maybe we should take care of that Spinarak before it gets violent..." Flash debated calling Caleb for help, but then decided not to do so, seeing as he wouldn't bother picking up. Peanut handed Flash a black Pokedex, which he said was good for trainers.

He took the black Pokedex in hand. "Thank you. Now please, take care of that Spinarak how you see fit, Peanut!" Casey made sure not to make any sudden movements that would have the Spinarak attack him in a heartbeat... Peanut instantly tackled the Spinarak off Casey. They started rolling around fighting.

Casey would try to get up, but his back was still hurting. "Flash...help me up, man."

"I'm coming, kiddo." He huffed, picking the journeyman delicately off the ground. "Dude, hand me Embrace's Premier Ball."

He did so, wincing through the whole thing. "W-Why do you need her?"

"She has Heal Pulse, right?" Flash called her out, and gave her a look that said it all. "Well, hopefully your wounds will be healed." After setting Casey down on the ground gently, Embrace used Heal Pulse on her trainer at least twice, allowing him to stand back up, but his back still felt a little sore. Peanut had hopped over giddily, having just handed trounced the Spinarak.

Recalling Embrace, Casey then said, "Alright. This gym is going to probably kill us, but at least my Gardevoir knows Heal Pulse should we need it. Okay? Let's hurry before any more unwanted distractions show up."

Flash nodded. "Remind me, Case, to find a way to vent some anger after this is over." So the guys began climbing the web again, speeding up the pace. Flash allowed Peanut to hold onto him as he scaled the web. They soon reached Joltik again. Casey didn't want to waste any time with this guy again. Quickly, he tried working his way around it. If that were to fail, he would try to take Joltik in his hand and throw him off the web. Joltik just used Thundershock on the web again. Both guys gritted their teeth, and kept climbing through the Thundershock. They were determined to give this gym leader a piece of their mind. Once they passed it, a Galvantula appeared. It was scurrying at a high speed. Peanut was going into nope mode for whatever reason. Both guys weren't gonna back down from this. Nope. These scare tactics have pretty much worn off on these guys. Instead, it was just fueling their rage.

"Magby, Ember!" Casey shouted, calling out the Live Coal Pokémon. Said Pokémon used said move on Galvantula. Peanut, as from going nope mode, had already backed down. Galvantula was pretty damaged, but didn't slow down. It stopped in front of Magby and delivered a slash, but leave it to Casey to step in front of Magby and take the attack for him. He yelped from the attack, and didn't see it yet, but there was a slight, bleeding wound on his chest from that. Kid loves his Pokémon that much.

He looked at his Magby, telling him to go for another Ember. Magby did so without hesitation, defeating the Galvantula.

"Casey...Don't you think that was a little extreme?!" Peanut had to ask.

"Okay, now let's just get through this death maze without smelling like blood. K?" Flash deadpanned.

"Oh shut up." Casey hissed, the two moving forward. Peanut noticed something, and began to say something before he was pulled up, disappearing after two feet. "I'll be fine, Peanut." Casey reassured. "I can take it." But it took him a while to register he was gone. Both guys looked around the spot where Peanut disappeared. "This is starting to get on my nerves."

"It's already gotten on almost all of mine." Flash responded. A hand suddenly appeared above them, so Flash tried to grab the hand and yank it down.

"What the hell, man?!" The hand yanked back, pulling Flash up to a platform. Eevee and Hailey were sitting kneeling there. Hailey had been the one offering her hand.

"I try to help you guys with the last stretch, and you try to kill me?! The hell?!" She leaned over, offering her hand to Casey.

"The gym's leader has been trying to kill us." He growled. "And I for one, have had it up to here with him/her/it." He held a hand to his forehead to show how pissed he was. Casey allowed Hailey to pull him up. Hailey blinked for the umpteenth time.

"HUH? Was the gym challenge really that bad?" Something was screaming at Flash that she hadn't performed the gym challenge.

"Yes. Yes it was." The guys told her in unison. Casey pointed at his wound he got from Galvantula. It was bleeding slightly.

"...oh, wow.

I just flew over it...Flying types are hella useful." Then she registered the fact that Casey was legitimately and realistically wounded. "How did you even get that?!"

"A Galvantula scratched me pretty good." Casey told her. Black lines ran down Hailey's face.

"Is that the full story, Peanut?" She had to ask.

"No, he took the hit for Magby..." Peanut answered innocently and honestly.

"I don't question his stupidity!" Flash raised his voice, suddenly snapping. "He's just like this!" He stormed on ahead, ready to find this gym leader.

Casey noticed this. "Wow...that's a whole new shade of red for Flash's aura..."Hailey sent out Dewott.

"Water gun!" Dewott soaked Flash's head, which only seemed to irritate him further. Shaking, he turned to Hailey.

"I'll...tell myself...I'm fine later." He hissed through his greeted teeth. Hailey then had a 'better' idea.

"...try ice beam, Dewott." Dewott used ice beam on Flash, but the latter ducked under it.

"I think you should let him just vent. He normally uses words to express his anger, as opposed to me." Casey advised. Hailey had sighed. Burgh was standing nearby. The first thing Burgh would see from Flash was the ex-narrator flipping him off. The second thing he would see is a literal neck vein showing. Something, anything, would give this guy the idea Flash was about ready to bust a blood vessel. Or four.

"Get out of my gym." Burgh curtly said.

"After the crap you put us through?" Casey asked, now walking in. "He's not here to challenge you. I am." Flash just stood behind his old charge, taking deep breaths now, now not giving the finger.

"Such obscene gestures are not allowed in my gym." Burgh replied. Hailey followed them with a sweatdrop.

"Flipping him off probably wasn't a good idea."

"Yeah, just like people getting injured and possibly dying is allowed." Flash retorted. "And I have to say, I've seen worse." Burgh held up his hand. A string shot came from nowhere, aimed at Flash. The journeyman held up his hand, a fire wisp going at it. He didn't care what Burgh thought anymore.

"And don't. Even think about attacking my old narrator." Dewott sprayed both attacks down with Water Gun.

"Calm down! There's probably a misunderstanding here!" Hailey exclaimed. However, the journeyman and ex-narrator weren't even paying attention to her in the moment, causing her to sweatdrop. "Are you even listening to me?!"

"Yes, I'm not deaf." Casey sighed, deciding to hear her out. "What misunderstanding could there be?"

"Well, first of all, why are you so angry?" Hailey frowned at Flash, mainly because he walked in here assuming Burgh was a complete maniac.

"Well let's see, the gym was basically, in my honest opinion, a death trap." He answered, pointing to his wound.

"My gym? A death trap? Nonsense!" Burgh scoffed.

"How was it a death trap?" Hailey asked, ignoring Burgh entirely. Flash ignored Burgh's protest, and went into pristine detail about what he, Peanut and Casey had to go through to get to this point.

"Well that's ridiculous! You obviously didn't read the sign with the directions to the gym challenge!" Burgh scoffed.

"Vee?" Peanut tilted his head, talking in Pokespeak.

"What I think he said was that there was no sign. I didn't see one, either." Hailey commented.

"Eh?!" Burgh ran over and climbed down the web, soon disappearing out of sight.

"Do you think someone tampered with the sign?" Flash wondered.

"That's what I suspect." Hailey nodded.

"I don't think the bugs could have moved it...then, who else could have?" Flash wondered.

"Probably someone who has a grudge against Burgh or something." Casey suggested. Or Neo Team Plasma, he added to himself.

"Hm..." Hailey looked deep in thought. Burgh soon returned.

"It seems someone removed the sign... My apologies! I hope no one was hurt too badly..."

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm just bleeding slightly." Casey really didn't seem to be that bothered by the fact.

"And if it makes up anything, after this, I'm willing to hunt down that sign for you." Flash offered. He wouldn't. Burgh shook his head.

"I had a replacement made. Meanwhile, you came for a gym battle, right?" Casey nodded. Even when he's wounded, he still is able to want to battle.

"You do you, kiddo." The ex-narrator's rage seemed to have subsided. Burgh started doing a recap of the rules of gyms. You know them. I know them. Your kids know 'em. Hailey whispered to Flash while this went on.

"Flash, do you have any Pokémon other than Peanut?" He just shook his head no.

"I'm just along for the ride." He whispered back.

"Then let's move to the side." He did so without any further questions.

"Although I think Case might need a bit of first aid after this."

"Aye. Hopefully Embrace and Nurse Joy will be up for it." Hailey nodded gravely. Burgh finished his rules explaining.

"Better them than me." He chuckled.

"Now, let's begin! Send out your first Pokémon!" He threw down a Poke Ball.

"Alright Trubbish! Show us what you're made of!" Casey called, sending out the Trash Bag Pokémon. He looked at his Pokedex to see what the move set was.

**Trubbish's moves include Toxic Spikes, Acid Spray, Stockpile, and Sludge.**

It was that first move in particular that caught his eye. But nah, not right now. He wanted to see his competition first, which was a Dwebble.

"What's that Pokémon?" Casey decided to check Dwebble out.

**Dwebble, the Rock Inn Pokémon. When it finds a stone of a suitable size, it secretes a liquid from its mouth to open up a hole to crawl into.**

"Oh, so that's cool." He acknowledged. Then proceeded to not care. "Trubbish, set up with Stockpile!"

The Trash Bag Pokémon did just that, its Defense and Special Defense raised by 1 stage.

"Sand Attack!" Burgh ordered. Dwebble did so. Trubbish got sand in its eyes, but Casey ordered, "Calm down buddy. Stockpile once again." Trubbish did as it was told, keeping its eyes closed. Burgh held out his hand. Dwebble shot forward at Trubbish. His footsteps suddenly disappeared, and Dwebble struck at Trubbish from behind with a Faint Attack. Trubbish fell flat on its face, but got right back up. That attack didn't seem to faze him thanks to the two Stockpiles.

"Give Sludge a go!" Casey encouraged. Trubbish tried to use Sludge on Dwebble, the attack connecting. Dwebble used Smack Down, hitting Trubbish, knocking him on its back, but he got back up again. _'Not cool, man!'_ He shouted.

"Set up a Toxic Spikes and make it risky!" Casey ordered. Trubbish went with that move mainly for set up. Flash, meanwhile, was not keeping an eye on the battle, he was keeping an eye on his old charge. Dwebble started squirming around, suddenly. He didn't move. "Okay Trubbish. Go for a Sludge once more!" Casey called. The Trash Bag Pokémon did so, connecting, but again not doing a lot. Dwebble kept squirming.

"Hey uh, Hailey?" Flash asked. "Aside from the Toxic Spikes, why could Dwebble be squirming?"

Hailey frowned.

"I don't know...Um..."

She whipped out her Pokedex. Her eyes widened.

"It's storing up energy to-" Dwebble suddenly unleashed Struggle Bug. Cue Trubbish falling on his back, special attack lowered and getting up slower than usual.

"Lemme see..." Flash looked up Struggle Bug. Then found out that Struggle Bug isn't supposed to be used like that in the orthodox manner, but then again, nothing in his life made any sense.

"Struggle bug is a pretty powerful attack... Trubbish is probably low on health now." Hailey frowned worriedly.

Dwebble used Faint Attack. Trubbish was pretty much on its last legs now, but went to give out one last Sludge.

Flash looked at the Pokedex he had, the description being very vague. He didn't seem to agree with Hailey's statement. Mainly because his intuition was telling him so.

And Trubbish went down during that time in a rather anti-climactic way. "That's just beautiful..." He sighed, recalling his fallen friend. Flash noticed Casey was getting slightly woozy, but he was still able to keep going.

"Alright then, let's see how you like this! Servine, you're up!" Casey called out Servine to take Trubbish's place.

_'Alright, let's get this over with.'_ Servine looked at Dwebble funny. Dwebble started squirming again, much to the grass type's annoyance. _'Oh no, we are not starting up with this.'_ Servine did not approve, using Vine Whip to try and rip Dwebble out of its own home. Dwebble started crying from pain, but Servine didn't care, and just for an extra kick in the nads, Servine used his vines to take Dwebble _and smash him into his own DIY home._ Casey thought that was a bit too far. But Servine?

'_I don't care.'_

_'Harsh...'_ Peanut hid behind Flash. Burgh retrieved his defeated Pokémon and sent out Whirlipede.

**"Low blow, Casey Stargazer. Low. Blow."** Flash muttered under his breath, thinking that went way too far.

"Okay, hitting the eject button." Casey recalled Servine and sent out Magby. Whirlipede used pursuit. The attack hit Servine JUST as he was entering the Poke Ball. Well, that didn't seem to faze Casey all that much. Instead it just fueled his fire a little more. "You'll pay for that! Magby, go for an Ember!" He shouted. The Live Coal Pokémon did just that. When the attack hit, Whirlipede was pretty damaged, so it went for a Poison Tail next. Magby tried to jump over it and use Ember in rapid succession...

But sadly for Magby, this is Pokémon. Not the Matrix.

He got hit alright, and staggered back to its feet. Another Ember was in order, which was the attack that brought Whirlipede down. Leavanny was up next. One look at Casey would tell he was in awe of Leavanny.

"Is this the next generation Scyther? But much friendlier?" He looked at his Pokedex to find out about his opponent.

**Leavanny, the Nurturing Pokémon, and the final evolutionary form of Sewaddle. Upon finding a small Pokémon, it weaves clothing for it from leaves by using the sticky silk secreted from its mouth.**

Leavanny was doing just as its entry suggested for Magby, much to Flash's amusement. Even though it was taking damage from poisoning, but you don't care about details like that, now do you?

"Hey, maybe after this battle Burgh, you think Leavanny could fix my shirt?" Casey requested, looking at his torn thermal. Flash noticed Casey was slightly stumbling around.

"I think the blood loss is finally starting to get to him." He commented to Hailey.

Burgh nodded to Casey's request, but Hailey was a little worried.

"Uh oh... I hope he ends the battle quickly." Hailey frowned.

"Alright. Let's finish this battle strong!" Casey cheered. "Magby, go for a Smokescreen!"

The Live Coal Pokémon executed the command. Leavanny waited a few moments before using Protect.

"Hmm. Well played." Casey complimented. He didn't even realize the blood loss was starting to affect him. "Go for Smog!" Magby went to doing that. Leavanny used Razor Leaf.

Hailey frowned.

"...maybe we should stop the battle." She suggested.

"I know Casey...he's a tough nut to crack." Flash objected. "He wouldn't go until he loses or wins. No other way. Aside from dying, of course." Magby tried using an Ember to intercept the Razor Leaf. Both partially canceled each other out, but they both were hit. Magby, on his last legs, gave it everything he had for one last Ember. Leavanny used Razor Leaf, being enough to bring Magby down. As he recalled Magby, he realized Servine was his last hope. Oh well. Close shave victory it was! And Casey was known for these!

"Alright Servine, you're our last hope!" He sent out the grass type. And clearly was not happy with the Pursuit.

_'You could say I had it coming.'_ He shrugged; at around...I'd say half health. _'But I am NOT going down like a chump!' _Leavanny started squirming, much to Servine's annoyance.

_'Here we go again...'_ Servine sighed, using Vine Whip not to smack Leavanny. Oh no. He was going to wrap his vines around her waist, and attempt to suplex her into the ground. Sounds awesome, right? He's just got to pull this off first. Servine managed to do so, but Leavanny was still squirming about. So cue Servine going on this epic sequence of hefting Leavanny up in the air, going up with her, and just slamming her into the ground. But after this all, Leavanny was still squirming about, making Servine pretty upset with a visible anime tic mark. Servine pretty much had enough at this point, so he picked Leavanny up and started to use his body to try and choke her out.

"Hey, Servine learned Wrap!" Casey commented. He closed his eyes for longer than a second, feeling a little woozy. But it didn't deter him as Leavanny was just about to use Struggle Bug, but with the combination of Wrap and the Toxic Spikes giving Leavanny poisoning, Servine was able to outlast the Nurturing Pokémon. He pumped his fists up in the air...and promptly fell on his back, passed out from the lack of blood.

"And that is the same guy who tamed Yveltal with his Dedenne." Flash sarcastically remarked. "Now we can get him to the emergency room, Hailey."

She frantically ran over to Casey, looking for his Premier Ball that stuck out like a sore thumb, the ball containing Embrace.

"Heal Pulse to stabilize him, please!"

_"Yes ma'am!"_ The Gardevoir obliged the order, using Heal Pulse on her trainer to get him to stable condition. She didn't need to say Psychic at all, lifting one hand up, using telekinetic power to lift Casey up. Then realizing that there wasn't enough time to go down a secondary exit, she lifted Hailey and Flash as well, then carried all three of them out and to the Pokémon Center without question. I'm sure Trubbish, Magby and Servine will be okay. Just some R&amp;R in the machine; they'd be up and at 'em within a minute or so according to the games. Or if we're going by anime logic, one time skip was all that would be needed.

But Casey? He needed a surgeon, and soon.

When the party entered, Nurse Joy took one look at Casey, and then motioned for the Audino to get a stretcher. It did, the two taking him back to wherever they do what they needed to do. Who knew this was possible?

-B2W2-

Once Casey was in the operating room, Peanut skipped over to Flash. "So, what did you think of gym battling? Are you gonna be a gym trainer?" He asked.

"Eh...I'd think about it, but I'd rather have my gym cover multiple types. You know, just to mess up any potential type advantage users." Flash told him, missing the point. "Either that or I'm more focused on other things aside from that." Peanut caught himself at that point.

"AH! I meant if you were gonna CHALLENGE the gyms, like the brothers are doing!"

"I never really thought about giving it a try." Flash admitted. "Then again, there are other regions with Pokémon Gyms in them, right?" He thought about the six regions, and remembered from memory that Casey had been to Johto, Hoenn twice, Kalos, and now here we are in the Unova Region. "Now that we're here, there are only two that they haven't been to. Maybe I could start from there."

"Aye!" Peanut saluted him. Then Flash abruptly said,

"Calling it right now, the kid's gonna pull through."

The other three arrived, having heard the news. Caleb wasn't very surprised, but the other two were, seeing as they didn't know Casey like his brother and ex-narrator did. First thing Caleb asked Hailey when he saw her was,

"What did my brother do this time?"

"Someone tampered with the gym." Hailey said seriously.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain-" Then Flash decided to answer his question.

"He got cut up bad by this yellow bug like creature." He informed. "Kid is getting patched up as we speak."

Caleb facepalmed. **"If I had a dollar for every time he wound up in a doctor's care..."** He grumbled.

"Sorry... I hope that he'll be okay." Hailey frowned.

"Of course he'll be okay." Caleb reassured. "He's been in tight spots before, and he's managed to make a comeback."

"That's probably just willpower speaking since he doesn't want his legacy to end anytime soon." Flash added. "Especially like this."

Caleb went up to the counter, wondering about his brother. "Excuse me, but do you know where my brother is? A Casey Stargazer?" He asked.

"He's due to be in until tomorrow." The person replied to Caleb. "...would you like his Pokémon to hold onto, or should they be given to him upon release?"

"Upon release." He answered. "And...Is it possible that I can see him?" The lady shook her head at the second inquiry.

"He's still being worked on."

"Fair enough." He walked back to Flash. "Now what?" Hailey turned to the rest of the group.

"So, are any of you planning to challenge the gym?"

"I do, but I'm not sure if I'm ready." Caleb answered.

"Well we probably need more time before we challenge any gym. Henry added, 'we' referring to himself and Robyn.

"Then we should move on from Castelia once Casey's out, right?" Hailey proposed.

"My thoughts exactly." Flash nodded.

"I don't see any problems." Caleb agreed. "I still want to get that badge, though, if that's at all possible."

"Well Caleb, if you want my advice, I suggest you get a water type." Flash recommended. "I saw one of Burgh's Pokémon be inside a rock until your brother's Servine took Dwebble out of its rock, and beat it senseless. Nonetheless, I think a water type would work in your advantage."

"I can give you a fishing rod, if you want. I have an extra." Hailey offered.

"Flash, we're going fishing." The young sorcerer grinned.

"What about us?" Robyn asked.

"You can do what you want. Just meet us at the docks by midnight." Hailey answered, walking toward the route. "You can even, like, go on a date together if you want."

"EWW!" Henry and Robyn shouted at Hailey's comment before quietly following, not having anything better to do.

"Meanwhile, I'm gonna hunt down this cute Pokémon I've been looking for... It's supposed to be in this route." Hailey said, walking away and not even caring.

"Wait, what Pokémon?" Caleb asked, or tried to.

"Let's just catch you a water type." Flash sighed. He casted the line out into the water, and waited for a bite. A Qwilfish came out, prompting Caleb to send out Magnemite. Qwilfish began using water type attacks, whereas Magnemite just responded with Thundershock.

When Qwilfish was paralyzed, Caleb threw a Poke Ball at it.

1…

2…

3…

Success!

He got the Poke Ball containing Qwilfish, smiling. "I have a feeling my time in the gym will be much, much easier."

'I still wonder who stole that sign, though...' Flash thought to himself.

"Heeeeey! You guys done yet?" Hailey was walking over, a Minccino in her arms...that was hella fast, since she was looking for a specific Pokémon.

"I got what I came here for." The young sorcerer informed. "Now to get that badge."

-B2W2-

"I would suggest using Magnemite to fly over the challenge. It's hella boring." Hailey advised upon arriving at the gym.

Caleb tried doing that. He doubted it would be easy, and hoped his upper body strength would hold out...

Lucky for him, it would if just barely.

"I'm gonna head to the Pokémon Center. Good luck, Caleb!" Hailey left. Upon arriving, he had a neutral expression on his face.

"I'm ready to get this over with." He stated.

Burgh sent out Dwebble first, Caleb sending out Qwilfish in response.

"Alright then, let's go Qwilfish!" Caleb called, sending the Water/Poison type out.

Now as for moves, Caleb looked that up.

**Qwilfish's moves include Poison Sting, Rollout, Water Gun and Minimize.**

"Alright, let's do this thing. Qwilfish, Water Gun!" Caleb commanded, Qwilfish going for that move. Dwebble was hit badly. It started squirming, but Caleb would have none of it. "Water Gun once again!" Caleb shouted, Qwilfish doing that again. Dwebble was defeated!

Whirlipede next!

"Qwilfish, you think you can stay in?" The sorcerer inquired. It nodded...in whatever way it could. Its body is basically a balloon, so how can it nod? "Alright. Minimize." Qwilfish shrunk its body, raising its evasion by 1 stage. Whirlipede used Screech, hitting Qwilfish. Qwilfish was hit with the Screech. "Hey Qwilfish, use Rollout!" Caleb shouted. The Balloon Pokémon used Rollout to try and slam into Whirlipede. However, Whirlipede swatted him away, yet the fish was too persistent to call it quits. He charged back with another Rollout, hoping to hit Whirlipede in the side. The Curlipede used Pursuit to get away from Qwilfish, but the latter persisted by giving chase. Whirlipede then used Struggle Bug, causing Qwilfish to get hit, but he struck back with Water Gun.

Later, Qwilfish was downed from two more Pursuits. He recalled the water/poison type and sent out Pignite.

_'Another one of these? Here we go again!'_ Pignite laughed, using Ember. Whirlipede was defeated from the move, meaning that Leavanny was up next.

Pignite steeled itself for what would come its way, which was a Razor Leaf. He then struck with Ember and followed up with Tackle to finish the job. He got the Insect Badge, and was now on his way.

-B2W2-

Day 4 (March 21st, 2015) Start!

The next day, the group was at the Pokémon Center ready to pick Casey up. Yesterday before Caleb went to bed, he went with Henry and Robyn to catch some new Pokémon, Robyn getting a Purrloin, and Henry getting a Blitzle and Lillipup. Flash was out in the lobby, reading a random magazine that he just picked up. Hailey was asleep next Flash. Minccino was huggled in her arms like a stuffed animal.

"Where's Casey at?" Robyn asked. Cue Casey coming in, taking the magazine, and smacking Flash awake with it. Flash fell out of his chair as a result. Henry and Robyn laughed at Casey smacked Flash, mainly because they thought the ex-narrator deserved it.

"Oh hey Casey!" Flash perked up. "What's got you upset?"

Casey responded with, "Nothing really. I've just always wanted to do that."

"Better that than shank him." Caleb chuckled.

"Or maim him." Henry chimed in.

"Or something worse." Robyn added.

"His violence knows no bounds." Flash joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Not working." Casey bluntly informed.

"Anyway, are we leaving today now that we got Casey?"

"Well not yet." Henry corrected Flash.

"You two want to do something here before we head off?" Flash asked.

At this time, Caleb's lacrima was ringing, and on the other end was Zorua.

"Guys! I found Team Plasma!"

"You did? Awesome!" Casey grinned.

"Whereabouts? As in, where are they?" Caleb inquired.

"Come meet me at the boat!" The call ended.

"Guys, we got a lead. Come on." The brothers ran to the boat after Caleb pocketed his lacrima. The others followed quickly and met up with the fox. Zorua was there to greet them, waving.

"You found Team Plasma?" Casey asked with high hopes. Zorua nodded.

"But first, we need to delegate one or more of us to protecting the ship. I'm going to lead you all to them."

"Flash, you want to stay behind?" Caleb asked.

He shrugged. "Sure, I'll be volunteered as tribute." He joked.

"Follow me!" Zorua darted off. Peanut hopped over to Flash and sat next to him.

"How much you willing to bet they're headed for a sewer?" Flash asked Peanut.

"What makes you think that?" Peanut tilts his head in confusion.

"Just mere assumption." Flash answered.

-B2W2-

Zorua led them to a pothole. "Down here! They're in the sewers!"

"You first." Caleb looked at Casey. The latter went in the pothole, followed by the former. Henry and Robyn followed after and jumped into the sewers. Robyn was more reluctant than Henry though. Zorua brought up the rear, along with Hailey.

"Never thought we'd wind up in a sewer again, Case." Caleb joked.

"Oh can it. Just when you find them, tell me. I want to pound the stuffing out of 'em!" Casey was determined to do just that.

"I never thought I'd end up in a sewer at all." Robyn said.

"Back when we were in the Spiral, Casey and I wound up in sewers a few times during our travels." Caleb told them. "We're kinda used to it." It was then Zorua's fur fluffed up.

"Guys, something's about to...!" A flash flood of sewer water suddenly rounded the corner, hitting the group head on! "Everyone, call out a water type!" Zorua shouted before being enveloped in sewer water completely. Everyone was being thrown around in the flood of water.

"Qwilfish!" Caleb called out. Casey did what he could to keep his head above water. A Dewott swam over to the journeyman, and a different Dewott went after Caleb and Qwilfish.

'I thought Hailey had only one...' Caleb thought in his panic. But no matter. They just let themselves be grabbed. The group found themselves split up. Casey was with Hailey, Henry and Robyn were- slightly in a hilarious way- with each other, and Caleb wound up with Zorua. Casey was pulled away, and eventually resurfaced next to Hailey.

-B2W2-

"You okay?!" Hailey asked, gasping for air. "I almost didn't see you!"

"Yeah, I'll live." He informed. "I've lived through much worse."

"Good." Hailey sighed in relief. "I wish I had water types other than Dewott at times like this..."

"Same here; I wish I had a water type..." Casey mused. "If I had brought Queenie, we would be okay."

"Let's go find them." Hailey started walking, Casey following her.

"Oh good." He smirked, seeing as they didn't need a light. His eyes glinting light blue, he tried to find where his brother was by searching for his aura. He would have, but he felt evil auras almost immediately around the corner first. "I found Team Plasma scum!" Casey told Hailey, running toward the evil auras.

"Let's take 'em out with Dewott and Servine!" Hailey ran after him. The grunts sent a pair of Scraggy to attack the pair, but they had sent out their starters.

"Let's go Servine!" Casey called out Servine, nodding to Hailey's request. Servine had a smug look on his face, going for Vine Whip on one of them.

_'Let's beat 'em dead!'_ Dewott cheered, using Razor Shell on the other. The grunts were instantly defeated and ran away. However, Casey tossed an orb of light at each of them as they were running.

-B2W2-

At a different location, the Dewott resurfaced in a less flooded region. It hopped onto the ground after making sure Caleb was clinging to Qwilfish safely. It reverted back into Zorua, who shook his fur out. "I lost sight of the others, but I managed to get you here safe! You okay, Caleb?!"

"Right as rain, Zorua." Caleb nodded, but then shuddered a little bit. His situation reminded him of something that happened back in his past.

Zorua nodded. "I'm sure the others are fine, too..." He didn't add 'I hope'. He was scared, though. They were both the youngest in the group, and they were together instead of with older trainers.

"Yeah...the others will be okay..." Caleb wiped a tear from his eye.

"Is something wrong?" Zorua asked worriedly.

Caleb sighed. "Something that happened a while back is reopening old wounds, Zorua..."

"What happened?" Zorua asked, sitting next to his friend.

"A while back, when Casey and I first went to the Spiral...we got separated." Caleb admitted. "He went one way, and I went the other. All that time I was away from him I thought he was dead..." Admittedly, it was only for a few weeks when that happened, but to the young sorcerer, it felt like an eternity he was away from his brother.

"I see...Well Casey is definitely okay! We'll go find him now, in fact! Let's go!" Zorua stood up.

"Yeah. Normally it takes a village to bring him down. Metaphorically, of course." Caleb grinned, retracing his steps before the flash flood. Zorua nodded, grinning. However, when they turned the corner...

They actually found two scientists.

"Um...excuse us." Caleb asked. "Mind helping us out here?" The scientists whipped around, Poke Balls in hand.

"Meddling trainers aren't allowed!"

"I-I'm not here looking for a fight." He defended. "I just-" The scientists didn't listen to Caleb and sent out two Magnemites. Zorua quickly jumped in front of Caleb, his fur fluffed out. **"So be it then..."** Caleb huffed, sending out Pignite. He used Ember on one of the Magnemites. The Magnemite was defeated! Zorua quickly defeated the other one with Fire Fang. After that, the scientists fled, leaving Caleb and Zorua to find the former's brother and the others.

-B2W2-

After some time, Robyn and Henry were washed onto a dry part of the sewer. They were separated from the others. Robyn and Henry were coughing. "Robyn. You alright?" Henry asked helping her up.

"Somewhat. Where are the others?" She asked.

"I don't know. We better find them." Henry said as they began walking. Two Team Plasma grunts suddenly appeared before Robyn and Henry.

"Humph! Our flash flood worked! Seems that the trainers are fleshed out! Now we destroy them!" Poke Balls appeared in their hands.

"Oh great. Lightning (Blitzle) go!" Henry shouted.

"Let's go Beauty!" Robyn shouted as the Blitzle and Minccino were released. Two Sandiles appeared from the Poke Balls that the grunts had.

"Uh we might want to switch out." Henry sweatdropped. Robyn nodded as they returned their current Pokemon and swapped our in exchange for Jade and Vile.

"Jade, Vine Whip!"

"Vile, Bite!" Jade sent two vines out at one while Vile went to bite the other. The first Sandile was defeated. The second one used Bite to counter Vile's attack. Vile was bitten.

"Vile, Sand Tomb." Vile kicked up a Sand Tomb to lift the Sandile off him. The other Sandile used Sand Tomb as well, both Desert Crocs caught in the sand.

"Jade use Vine Whip again to help Vile and attack Sandile!" Jade did so using one vine to grab Vile and pull him out while the other to attack the Sandile. The grunts, having been defeated, ran off.

"Yay! Alright!" Robyn shouted.

"Great teamwork!" Henry called out as they high-fived each other with both hands. The two then began calling out for their comrades.

"Casey! Caleb!" Robyn called out.

"Where are you?" Henry added. All three groups in the sewers happened to meet up at the exact same time.

"Whoa!" Hailey stopped.

"Here they are!" Zorua cheered.

The brothers were happy upon seeing each other. "Glad to see you're alive." Casey grinned.

"Who caused that flash flood, anyway?" Caleb wondered.

"Team Plasma." Henry informed, causing Casey to get a little grumpy.

"OH...I'm going to beat them to a pulp..."

"Oh no need Casey. We already did." Henry told him, smiling.

"Thank you." Casey was grateful to say the least.

"So what next?" Robyn asked.

"We get out of here and head for the next city." Caleb told them.

"...hey, guys. There's more Team Plasma members over there." Hailey suddenly said after much silence. She pointed over their shoulders. Casey whirled around to see that there were two scientists stopped in front of them, sending out two Grimers.

"Who's going to fight these two?" Zorua wondered, hiding. "We probably only need two of us to fight..."

"Embrace, come on out!" Casey sent out his Gardevoir without second thought.

"Let's go Howler!" Henry called out as he released the Lillipup who happily barked. Embrace used Psychic on one of the Grimer. The first Grimer was defeated.

"Henry, take out the other Grimer, alright?" Casey asked.

Henry just nodded, ordering Howler to use Bite on the other Grimer. Said Grimer was damaged from the attack and struck back with Sludge. Howler evaded the attack and used…Baby-Doll Eyes. Embrace used Shock Wave on the other Grimer. _"I apologize in advance, Henry."_ She said to him. The other Grimer was defeated!

-B2W2-

A little while later, after the brothers beat up both the scientists and the grunts [since it pays to be through] the police came and arrested said Team Plasma people.

"We arrested all the Team Plasma members. Thank you all for your help!"

"Anytime, my friends!" Casey cheered.

Caleb just chuckled at his brother. "Always glad to be of assistance."

"You're welcome." Henry said happily to the cops.

Robyn nodded. "Anytime. Really."

"Let's leave. I hate the sewers." Hailey deadpanned.

"Me too." Robyn said agreeing with Hailey's comment. The guys were already on their way out, the others following.

"Alright, so next city. Which way is it?" Caleb asked.

"Back to the route we were catching Pokémon on." Hailey said. "Let's get Flash first."

"Ah, but I want to go to the next gym now!" Casey whined.

**"Get over it, Case. We'll get there eventually."** Caleb huffed.

"Let's get going. We can get to the gym later." Henry said to the older brother. Caleb grabbed his brother's hand and started dragging him to the route.

"We're not abandoning Flash." Hailey deadpanned again. Strange how she would say that after what happened yesterday.

"Which is exactly why I'm dragging him." Caleb told her.

**CHAPTER 3 END!**

(Well guys this is the longest chapter I have EVER typed. Holy crap, I never thought I would get this done. Anyway, be sure to read, follow, favorite, and REVIEW! Review and maybe I'll add in a reference for you if you'd like. Lata! -Flash)


	5. Intermission 1 The Notebook

(Last chapter…was WAY too long. Then again, we do a lot of stuff in the RP, so the more stuff the better, I suppose? If it means Casey gets more stuff revealed about him despite me having his backstory all chalked up (PM me if you want to hear it), but this time we will have an intermission to show two more party members that will join up with the group later on. Darky belongs to GirlofDarkness10, and G, obviously, belongs to SHSL Hope G Komaeda. Dog Pirates, The Armada and Black Storm Raiders are property of Pirate101, and Leanne (who is mentioned in this chapter) belongs to the Fire Emblem series (The Tellius installments).

Also one thing to note: There will be quite a bit explained about Casey…somewhat. This is what he went through in his life as an adventurer, so be prepared to learn the roots of his insanity.

I'm also going to be adding in music at parts in the story to set a mood for certain scenes.

The Reviews:

SHSL Hope G Komaeda: Yeah, Caleb really is turning into the star here! I wonder why…all will be revealed on why he's like, main character-ish in the next installment.)

**INTERMISSION 1: The Notebook**

"Now, are you ready to go?" G asked. G is medium height with blond hair and sunglasses. He wears a yellow T-shirt and blue shorts. He has a really thick, big green scarf that goes down into his shirt because it's so long.

"Yup!" Darky nodded, before tossing G a caramel, "Darky promised." The person that referred to herself as Darky was Hispanic looking with brown hair, and hazel eyes. She was wearing a gray and red short-sleeved hoodie, blue and gray shorts, along with red ankle boots with black socks and to top it all off, a backpack that was the same color as her socks.

Now why are these two being mentioned? Well these two people have decided to head to Unova on a bit of a vacation from Gamer's Island. And for some reason, they decided to pick the same region that our main group is in right now.

"Race you there!" G summoned a giant bird that was referred to as Aquila, and Darky was heading there via a hovercraft.

-B2W2-

The duo soon landed in Aspertia City, where the brothers and Zorua first began their adventure. G was grinning. "You ready?"

"Heck yeah!" Darky cheered. G was already heading for the gym at this point, Darky following behind him.

When they arrived at the gym, G said, "In this one, we take a test." Both were handed a written test, the same test the brothers had to take.

The two began, the test (For those who want to know) looked like this.

Question 1: What does Shinx evolve into?

A: Nothing

B: Luxio

C: Luxray

Question 2: What is the gender ratio for Riolu?

A: 60% female

B: 15% female

C: 12.5% female

Question 3: Which is a Mega Evolving Pokémon?

A: Persian

B: Gengar

C: Girafarig

Question 4: What is the ability that allows Pokémon to speak with humans?

A: None

B: Telepathy

C: Psychic

Question 5: What are bug types weak against?

Question 6: What type is resistant to fighting (name one type)?

Question 7: What is a Pokémon's Pokedex color?

A: The color of its type

B: The color of its skin

C: The Pokedex owner's favorite color

Question 8: Write the evolutionary line of Togepi.

Question 9: How did the Cleffa evolution line reach the Earth?

A: With all other Pokémon

B: On a spaceship

C: On a shooting star

And the last question being the trick question of 'who was the first Pokémon'. The tests were graded, with G getting a perfect 10, and Darky getting an 8. When G crushed Cheren underfoot without breaking a sweat, it was Darky's turn to fight Cheren. Darky had a team of six Pokémon with her, all in a black purse of hers. She sent out a Lucario that she called Mamoru. A Patrat was sent out, with Mamoru responding to that with a Close Combat. Lillipup came out in Patrat's place, but it fell to an Aura Sphere.

Cheren forked over the badges, G skipping on over to the next city and gym.

-B2W2-

Upon reaching Virbank…

"You first this time!" G said.

"Kay! ... Poison type gym leader... right?" She asked. Darky was typing away on a D-Terminal, exchanging the five Poke Balls that weren't Mamoru's, and traded them for others. G nodded.

"You get six Pokémon, they get three."

"Aye." First up was Koffing, to which Darky sent out a Gallade that she called Courage. Koffing attempted Gyro Ball, but Courage shut him down with Psychic. With that, Koffing went down and Scolipede came out. Courage used Psycho Cut, dealing a lot of damage to the Megapede Pokémon. Scolipede used Steamroller, but Gallade had countered with Close Combat. They hit each other, to which Courage jumped back to use Psycho Cut again and downed Scolipede.

Garbodor had come out, and Darky had recalled Courage. "Go! Psycho!" She had sent out an Espeon. Garbodor led off with a Sludge Bomb, only for Psycho to dodge and use Psychic. With that, the Trash Heap Pokémon had fallen. After G was done beating the crap out of Roxie's Pokémon, they got their badges.

"Boat time!" G said to Darky.

"Yus! Onwards!" Darky returns her five Poke Balls that she had gotten out into her PC like device (except it wasn't a PC), once again leaving her with Mamoru's.

-B2W2-

A boat later arrived at Castelia City, both Darky and G hopping off of it. "To the next gym!" G squealed, dashing off into the city.

"Yuuuuuus!" Darky follows behind. It's predictable how G handled Burgh. Now it was Darky's turn to battle him. Darky sends out Aika the Vulpix, and Burgh sends out Dwebble. Aika used Flamethrower, hitting the Rock Inn Pokémon head on. Dwebble attempted Rock Blast, but Aika dodged and used Inferno to finish the job. What happened from there was Aika completely dismantling Burgh's team, earning them each an Insect Badge.

"Now to Nimbasa!" G cheered.

"ONWARDS!" Darky cheered loudly.

-B2W2-

G was skipping along, Darky following. They were passing Casey's group, and he was going to go to the next city and not pay them any mind, but remembered he had something to do for Flash.

"Heeeeeeey!" He skipped back to Casey's group, waving. The bros and Flash turned to face G.

"Heeeeeeeey!" G pulled to a stop. He looked like he usually did, except he was wearing a huge green scarf around his neck. It was so long it went down into his shirt. "Sup?"

"Yo." Darky follows behind G, waving at the brothers and Flash.

"Uh, not a whole lot." Flash answered.

"Hey, can I ask something?" Casey wondered. "You need something from us?"

"No, I was just saying hi." G stated. And declaring I'm going to destroy you all in the Pokémon League, he added to himself.

"Anything else?" Flash had a feeling there was more to this story than meets the eye.

"Nope! I can't say hi to my friends?" G asked in rebuttal.

Flash then remembered something. "You remember when we fought my old boss? You took his notebook from him, if I recall. Do you still have it?"

"Oh, yeah. I have it right here. I cleaned out all the evil and classified stuff, and have been using it as an extra medium for author powers. It's easier to use than electronics..." He pulled out the notebook. It was a regular spiral notebook, except it had the word 'Script' etched onto it in a strange manner. Flash knew the destructive power the Script had. It even took lives from Casey. Lives of his friends that were tragic wastes.

"Yeah, very easy to use." Flash nodded. Then heard that part about author powers. "Run that part by me again?" He knew The Scriptwriter had used its power to fight him, G and the boys back on the island a while back, but didn't know what G was talking about entirely.

"Author powers are used by authors, like me and Darky. They lend a lot of control over the world we're in." G explained. "However, some objects can become mediums of author powers, like this notebook. It's how The Scriptwriter could use them."

'If he was alive…' Flash thought to himself. He remembered that fateful day back on the island, four days before they left for Unova. The day where Casey got his long-sought revenge against his old boss.

-B2W2-

**Flashback to March 14****th****, 2015**

"Alright..." Casey thought about getting his revenge now. "You wanna kill this guy as much as I do?" Casey had been through six years of torment at the Scriptwriter's hands. He was shoved off of Sprout Tower back in Johto, putting him in a three week coma, had pulled the strings when his Marshtomp was killed back in his first Hoenn trip, pulled the strings again when Leanne was killed back in his second Tellius adventure, his Gardevoir possessed by The Scriptwriter and was thrown out of a plane in Kalos (but survived with a little help from Flash), and was separated from his brother in the first few weeks of his adventures in the Spiral. And now, he had the chance to kill the man responsible and get his revenge. Caleb, G, and Flash were there with him, and he had Embrace's Premier Ball on his person.

"No. I don't think that's possible." G pointed out. "And by that I meant that your hatred far exceeds anyone else's when it comes to this person." G followed as well.

Caleb was already heading after Flash, so Casey followed. "Let's just get this over with, man."

"You're just here to help, right?" Flash asked. The boys were following Flash to where he knew the Scriptwriter would be waiting for them. It was a rather tall tower in the city. Upon arrival at the tower, Flash pushed open the doors and looked for the elevator. The guys entered soon afterwards.

"Alright guys. If my narrator's intuition is right...he's up on the top floor."

"What?" Caleb bluntly asked.

"Come on Caleb, get with the program. It's kind of like in the villain handbook. Head honcho's always on the top floor, or deepest floor." Casey told him. G blinked at this fact.

"That also means there's probably stuff between us and him..."

Finding the elevator, Flash, Casey and Caleb got in. "My thought's exactly." The ex-narrator nodded. As much as his old boss was a complete asshole, he had some smarts about him. "He's not dumb enough to let us waltz into his office and kill him without a fight." G had nodded in agreement.

"That would be pretty stupid." He had gotten in the elevator, and later the group learned that they were right as the elevator stopped somewhere around the middle leveled floor. A voice on the intercom that Flash knew very well said,

"Did you really expect me to just let you kill me?" Flash growled.

"That's the guy, alright." He rushed out of the elevator, keyblades in hand already. The bros followed. G was silent for a second, then shouted out,

"Hey! This is probably a trap!" G grabbed something in his pocket and ran after Flash. And G was indeed right as several Dog Pirates were waiting in ambush.

"Tch..." G held out his hand. "I'll do this as quickly as possible..." A magic circle appeared in his hand. Magic circles began to slowly appear beneath the Dog Pirates, to which the other three watched on in curiosity. But Casey had a wide grin on his face. "Here we are...Forced Transformation!" In a second, all of the enemies had become harmless cats. The guys were laughing.

"That was beautiful!" Casey laughed. The intercom voice came back on.

"Oh, very funny. I'll be up on the roof when you get to my office."

"Looks like we know our route now." Flash stated, heading for the stairs.

"Exceed magic comes in handy!" G grinned as he followed. "Glad I created it..." The other three, wanting to kill this guy really badly, proceeded up the stairs. G was on the lookout, as they still had half a tower to climb.

On the next floor, the room was empty, although there was a large chasm over to the stairwell. Fortunately for them, various platforms and vines were available for them to use to cross.

"I think I saw a place similar to this in the past before...can't quite put my finger on it." Casey deadpanned. "But I can't help but wonder where that chasm leads to..."

"Don't think too much about it, Case." Caleb frowned. "That could lead to the ground floor for all we know."G frowned.

"Hm... This is troubling, though..." Casey called out Embrace.

"I have a plan. Embrace can carry you guys across, I'll do the platforming part. K?" He proposed. For once he was using his brain, Flash noted. Quite a rare occurrence outside of the battlements. G frowned again.

"If you're sure... I have something that could fly us across, if you would prefer..."

"What do you got?" Flash wondered, thinking G had something else in his bag of tricks. G grinned.

"Exceed magic isn't my only magic... A good wizard has lots of Magics." He reached into his pocket. "It would be better to conserve Embrace's strength, so leave this one to me!" Casey nodded to that plan, recalling his Gardevoir. G flipped out a silver key. "Open, gate of the eagle! Aquila!" A large brown, gold, and white eagle appeared in front of them.

Caleb stared in awe of the eagle, while the other two guys got on its back. "Hey Caleb, you coming or what?" Casey inquired, sporting a cheeky grin. The young sorcerer snapped out of his trance and got on Aquila. The eagle gripped the back of G's shirt with his talons, and then flew over the chasm, which thanks to the eagle, they were easily able to get to the other side.

After that, they soon reached the roof, and, as the voice said, there he stood. Flash's old boss, and the brother's tormentor. The Scriptwriter. He was a guy in his late 20s, sporting black hair and brown eyes along with fair skin. He was wearing a gray suit, white dress shirt and red tie. He had a notebook and pencil in one hand

"Took you boys long enough to get here." He scoffed.

"You..." Casey growled. "You're the one that did all that stuff to me!"

"It took you that long to figure out? I thought your narrator would have told you?" The Scriptwriter had a smug grin on his face, looking at Flash.

Flash rolled his eyes. "I was waiting for the right time to tell him, dude. But you thought I would have hated him forever? You were wrong." G stayed silent, watching this unfold.

The Scriptwriter shrugged. "If you want to ask if I did all those bad things to you boys, yes, yes I did. And why? Because it feels nice making people like you suffer." Caleb readied his bowgun, Casey summoned an aura sword (before calling Embrace out), and Flash had his keyblades opponent opened up his notebook and went to a clean page. "Now let's write you three out of the script...forever."

(Soundtrack: 'Zanza' from Xenoblade Chronicles)

G pulled out a keychain as well, ready to battle. The Scriptwriter kicked off the battle by writing something in his notebook, then watched as a rock slide was summoned to rain down on the party. Casey and Flash rushed to get out of the way, making sure to stay on the roof. G tried to run for cover, but ended up just getting thrown around by the rocks. Embrace grabbed a rock with Psychic, and threw it at the Scriptwriter. As for Caleb, he put up a dome like shield formed from shadows around himself and waited it out.

The Scriptwriter was hit with the rock Embrace threw, but got back up. "That wasn't very nice..." He frowned. Writing something in the notebook, his frown turned to a smile as he raised a barrier in front of himself.

"Barriers? Really? We can just beat those down till they get destroyed!" Casey taunted.

"That's annoying, though... Most of my magics aren't good for this kind of thing." G frowned for the third time. Flash shrugged, not really caring, and then flung himself up in the air with Aero, then shot a Triple Firaga at the barrier, visibly cracking it. G had ran at the barrier, the journeyman getting the same idea, and rushed at the barrier as well. Because of this, The Scriptwriter calmly began to write something down in his notebook. Both guys slashed their weapons at the barrier, breaking it.

The Scriptwriter finished what he was writing, watching as a whirlwind began to push the brothers and Flash back. The ex-narrator jammed his keyblades into the building's roof to hold on, and Casey shouted, "Embrace! Pull my brother to safety!" as he was being pushed back.

The Gardevoir obliged, using Psychic to get Caleb out of the whirlwind.

"...that's it." G placed his hands on the ground. "Hm..." The whirlwind ceased, and Casey just looked at G. What was he gonna do?

The Scriptwriter wrote something down in his notebook, seeming to use a move similar to Fire Pledge on G. Flash, however used Graviga on his old boss in an attempt to stop him from doing so. He was a fraction of a second late, but at least the boss was now seemingly pushed down from the attack. Fortunately, G darted out of the way, his speed seeming to have increased.

'Did he just use Agility?' Casey wondered. 'Because it sure looks like it.' With a groan of annoyance, the Scriptwriter then called forth another rock slide.

"Embrace, throw another rock at him!" Flash told her. "I'm sure Casey would say the same!" The Gardevoir did so, scoring another hit. G dodged around the rocks this time, but couldn't get closer to their opponent.

The rocks had stopped, and the Scriptwriter wrote up another attack. This time chain shots of hardened ice projectiles were tossed at them. "The rocks! Use them as cover!" Caleb advised, ducking behind one and shooting a Fire Arrow at the boss. G ducked behind the rocks.

"Flash! Firaga should be most effective!" He advised.

"On it!" The ex-narrator nodded, shooting a Firaga at the Scriptwriter.

The boss was knocked down, and got back up, albeit slower this time. Yup, he's mad. Casey cheered to himself, seeing as they were halfway done.

"I should have never underestimated you kids..." He growled. "But this fight's just beginning!" Scrawling something down in the notebook, he now had another barrier in front of him, and also had summoned a few Black Storm Raiders as well.

G frowned for the fourth time. "Mm... Not fun..." He placed his hand on the rock on front of him.

_"I'll take care of the hired help_." Embrace informed. She lifted another rock with Psychic, and threw it at the Black Storm Raiders. It took out half of them, though the survivors began rushing at her. G however, shot at them, his legs sparking.

"Fighting a storm with a storm... Hmhm." He laughed at his own joke.

The Scriptwriter wrote something down, with a smirk saying, "This next attack I think Flash fell head first into."

He knew what that meant. He watched as a column of fire erupted on one part of the roof, leaving a hole behind. The process repeated for 4 other parts on the roof, having the same effect afterwards. G was thrown back by the fire.

Casey began pelting the barrier with fire wisps, and Caleb shot at it once with a sniper rifle. A Soviet model, nonetheless. Both boys broke the barrier, allowing Flash to toss another Firaga at the Scriptwriter. G was watching, and The Scriptwriter was being pushed to the edge from the attacks, but stood his ground. He was showing signs of fatigue. The boss called forth another whirlwind, pushing the bros to one of the sides of the building. Casey held onto his brother, and jammed his sword in the roof, hanging on for dear life. G began to slowly send electricity towards Flash's old boss, and that seemed to do the trick as he fell to his knees, dropping his notebook along with it. The whirlwind having stopped, the guys began moving towards him. Not to attack him, but they slowly moved towards him, tranquil fury scrawled on their facial expressions.

(Soundtrack: None)

When he got back on his knees, he looked at the group. "Okay, let's not do anything we're going to regret here. I know, I screwed up," Then he saw Casey put his revolver near his forehead. "And you have a gun pointed at me, which I'd really appreciate it if you'd put that away."

"You should have thought about that before you killed my friends." Casey hissed.

"It's over, 'boss'. You can't bulls*** your way out of this one." Flash smirked.

"And before you try anything..." G picked up the notebook. "I'll be confiscating this. These three have waited a while for this, and I won't let you spoil it."

Caleb gave G a smile that said, 'Thanks for the help.'

"Okay, I know what I did was bad, but you need to look at the positives here." The Scriptwriter tried to reason, getting back to his feet. "You still have a lot of friends here on this island that are alive. You're one of the more known people here-"

"And the fact that I witnessed two deaths in front of me doesn't mean anything to you?" Casey felt like cutting him off there, pushing the barrel of the gun to his forehead now.

Casey looked at Flash and Caleb, asking non-verbally if he could make the finishing blow. Flash nodded, and so did Caleb.

"Say hello to Kipper and Leanne, you piece of trash." Then Casey took the shot, and watched as The Scriptwriter fell to the street with a loud thud. He was done for. G had watched and was grinning from the kill.

"I'll just keep this notebook... Can't have it getting into anyone's hands now..." He mused.

"Just as long as you don't use it against us." Casey agreed, allowing G to keep the notebook. He then looked down at where Flash's old boss's corpse lay, thinking about how sweet revenge felt.

"I can use author powers on my own." G said. "I don't need someone else's..."

"We did it, Case." Flash smiled. "We won."

"Yup. We won." The journeyman joined his brother and ex-narrator in a hug, all three cheering wildly.

**End Flashback**

-B2W2-

"I see...I wonder..." Flash asked for the notebook. "I want to actually try something." G handed him the notebook.

"Be careful... There are still some dangerous things in there." G warned.

"Like?" He asked.

"Well, I kind of put some really bad things in there for storage... They should be fine as long as you don't release them." G explained.

"Yeah, and imagine what would happen if our enemies got their hands on this thing...namely the Armada..." Flash, Casey and Caleb all shuddered at once.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't let them. Besides, they wouldn't know how to use the stuff." G reassured.

"I think we should tell you what we know of them..." Caleb responded. "It's probably for the best..." Caleb then went to tell G and Darky what he knew about them, eyes closed as he went along with his explanation.

"I have a strategy to deal with them already." G grinned.

"Then let's hear it." Casey was excited to know. Mainly if it involved him blowing s*** up.

"Just blow them up because we're all awesome and they're not." G said cheerfully, seeming to read Casey's mind.

"Our original plan was to take the map all for ourselves and then head to El Dorado..." Flash deadpanned. "At least, that's what we were doing before these guys were summoned here." And then Flash got fired for quitting...and now we're in present time.

"Hm... It'll suck if they attack again, but my guild will definitely deal with it." G said.

"Yeah, but I don't think we'll have to worry about them for a little while longer." Casey shrugged. "I mean, we chased 'em off the island once, we can do it again." G nodded.

"Quite easily, too!" G looked at Flash, remembering something. "...actually, there IS something I want to tell you about that book..."

"There is?" Flash asked. G motioned for him to hand the book back. Flash did so, then G flipped through the book until he got to a page, then turned it to Flash.

"It looks like a lot of writing, but it can be rewritten so that it makes this..." He rewrote the writing until it formed a picture of Flash.

"Okay, but what does that mean?" Flash wondered.

"Something not good, I think." Casey guessed. He was wrong.

"You're actually Casey's alter ego, you see. The Scriptwriter just used his author powers to give you a separate body." G explained. "However, you don't have his powers for some reason, even though you're born from his body. Isn't that kind of strange to you?" Ah yes, it all came back to Flash. When Casey hit the water in Violet City, Flash was created from the brain cells that Casey lost. Then he got his physical form, which was pretty much like Casey, except his old and now dead boss gave him just as one last 'F you' to the ex-narrator.

"So that means..." It then hit the guys like a truck filled with cinder blocks.

"Yeah, it is weird. In other words, with this, I can have Casey's abilities?" Flash realized.

G nodded. "I suspect the Scriptwriter used author powers to steal them, but I can give them back to you with this."

"Well Casey? Want me to have your powers?" Flash asked. The journeyman thought about that, then shrugged.

"Oh, why not?" G began rewriting the sentences again. They came off the page and turned into a ball of white light. The light went into Flash's chest, and he felt stronger as magic flowed into him. Flash reacted as the power coursed through him, even so much and kneeling over.

"You alright, Flash?" Caleb asked.

"Never better, boys." Flash grinned, standing up. "Never. Better." G pocketed the notebook.

"Well, I'm off to Nimbasa. See you guys at the Pokémon League!" He skipped off, Darky following.

"Okay, take care!" The trio waved them off.

-B2W2-

G and Darky reached Nimbasa. "You first!" The former said.

"Aye!" Darky skips along to the gym, "Nimbasa... Electricity!" She gets out a few Poke Balls from her D-Terminal.

Emolga was sent out first, where as Darky…

"Jupiter, I choose you!" Darky sends out a Garchomp in response! Once the slaughter was over, they headed off to Driftveil, and beat the guy there. Then they proceeded to stomp the other gym leaders under foot, getting the rest of the badges with relative ease.

Yeah. Maybe they're just that good. Now they were just waiting for the World Tournament to happen in Driftveil.

(Well it looks like our main group is screwed! Next time on Unova Uprising, the brothers take on Elesa! How will they fare? Read, follow, favorite, and REVIEW! I need those reviews. Just like I need an allowance.)


	6. Chapter 4 Project Runaway Elesa

(So we got another chapter to tackle! Let's do it. This is the chapter where we learn Caleb's motivation for going on this adventure, and we find out Hailey is a shipper! Who would have guessed?

Also Darky and G have some sister stories for this one: Darky's being 'Strike Back', and G's being 'The Only One Who Wields a Pokedex'. Read 'em if you want to learn a bit about G and Darky.

The Reviews:

SHSL Hope G Komaeda: Yes, readers will love seeing what's coming next.)

**CHAPTER 4: Project Runaway Elesa; A Quest for Respect!**

The main group was walking along when Hailey stopped. "Guys, the way is blocked." Hailey pointed out. A bunch of Crustle was standing in the way. Caleb wasted no time looking at his brother saying non-verbally, 'Don't. Touch. Anything.' On the other hand, Robyn grabbed her Poke Ball and threw out Jade while Henry threw out Vile.

"You think that you can move a whole wall of Pokémon with that kind of effort?" A scientist guy with blue hair walked up behind them, holding a remote control.

"Who are you?" Henry asked the scientist. Flash had a similar question.

"My name is Colress." He did the anime glasses thing. "Allow me to assist." He pressed some buttons on his machine and the Crustle cleared out. "I'm a scientist. I've wanted to test out my machine...Would any of you care for a Pokémon battle?" Casey shoved his brother forward.

"Really funny, Casey..." Caleb growled. Henry was more willing to do so.

"Uh... Sure I will." Henry said. Colress laughed.

"I'd just like to test out the strength of my Pokémon against another trainer." He walked so he was facing off against Henry. "Let's begin, then." He tossed down a Poke Ball. Henry kept Vile out. Good for him as a Magnemite came out of the Poke Ball.

"Alright then." Caleb was tempted to beat his brother up, and Hailey could sense that coming from him. She sweatdropped as a result.

"Calm down..." She tried to soothe Caleb.

"Oh, you'd want to beat him up to with the stupidity he pulls on average." He huffed.

"Kiddo, he's beaten me up before for mainly hurting his girl and that was all a misunderstanding." Flash reminded, and then to Hailey, "Besides, he'll get over it."

"Trust me; I've wanted to sock him upside the head a few times myself." Hailey said dryly. "But we must refrain...For now..."

"You guys, I'm still here..." Casey frowned.

"Case, you're lucky you're still alive." Flash deadpanned.

"I'm just restraining myself until the Pokémon league... Then I can pulverize him in battle." Hailey said, an evil gleam in her eyes.

Casey noticed that, and then shuddered. **"Gods, why is pissing people off my special talent?"** He asked to no one in particular.

"Refraining from being an asshole right now." Flash deadpanned, facepalming. Hailey grinned at the two.

Back with Henry and Colress…

"Awesome we got the type advantage! Now Vile use Sand Attack!" Vile did so kicking up sand at the Magnemite. Magnemite countered with a Sonicboom.

Vile dodged. "Now Dig!" Vile quickly dug beneath the earth's crust. When the Dig hit, Magnemite was defeated. A Klink was sent out next.

Vile used Sand Attack again, and Klink used Sonicboom. Caleb got out his Pokedex and scanned Klink. "What on Earth is that?"

**Klink, the Gear Pokémon. Two bodies comprise a fixed pair. They spin around each other to generate energy.**

Vile was hit with Klink's attack and struck back with Bite. It didn't do much to the pure Steel type.

"Pure Steel types..." Caleb mused. Vile then followed up with a Dig to dodge another Sonicboom, defeating Klink.

"Thank you for a battle. May we meet again." Colress smiled.

He walked away.

"Well that Colress guy sure was weird." Robyn said.

"Yeah I didn't feel like that was much of a challenge." Henry said returning Vile.

"I don't have a pure steel type myself." Hailey grimaced. "I should've caught one..." Caleb then noticed something down the route. A little…rock thing?

"What's that?" Caleb checked his Pokedex on the rock thing.

**Roggenrola, the Mantle Pokémon. The hexagonal-shaped hole is its ear. It has a tendency to walk in the direction the sound is coming from.**

"Yeah. Well anyways let's keep going! Where are we headed next?" Henry asked.

"I think my brother sees something he wants." Casey pointed out, interrupting Henry's train of thought.

Hailey encouraged Caleb to catch it, and he had this to say. "Okay, so it's a Roggenrola...I want it." He grinned madly, calling Qwilfish out to use Water Gun. He caught the Roggenrola by surprise.

_'Ow! Uncalled for!'_ The Roggenrola shouted. It used Rock Blast on Qwilfish.

"Qwilfish, use Rollout to evade, then Water Gun once again!" Caleb commanded. Qwilfish did as it was told, knocking the Roggenrola on its back. Caleb threw a Poke Ball at it before anything else could happen.

1...

2...

3...

Success!

"Hey, Casey! I wanted to talk to you about something!" Hailey waved to him.

"Ask away, Hailey." He told her.

"I noticed in your last gym battle... Your Trubbish needs training before it can be successful in battle." Hailey explained. "I might even suggest evolving it as soon as possible."

"Okay, but I don't see any trainers on this route..." He looked at Flash. "Flash, anywhere we can train up out here?"

"Why are you asking me?" He wondered in a sarcastic manner. "Wait, just because I'm a narrator I should know this stuff? Screw you, Casey!"

"And it's a wonder we live together under the same roof..." Caleb rolled his eyes; his newly caught Roggenrola's Poke Ball in hand.

Henry and Robyn look at each other. "Um... hello."

"They're like this." Caleb told them. "You'll get used to it."

Peanut raises his paw like he's in school. "You can probably just time skip over level grinding." He suggested.

"Timeskip?" Casey wondered. Flash looked at Peanut, the message so clear he shouldn't even have to explain it.

"It's a narrator thing I can help you with. It's part of why I came along with you." The Eevee narrator told him.

"I see...can you use it? I wanna get a Garbodor." Casey grinned. He really liked how powerful Garbodor was back when he fought Roxie, and that was the main reason he wanted the Trash Heap Pokémon.

"Kay Kay! But I'm only doing it for level grinding..." Peanut reminded him.

-B2W2-

With the help of Peanut using timeskipping, Casey has now trained significantly and at the very least has a Garbodor.

"See, for you that was a while, but didn't it feel like time went faster?" Peanut asked him.

"That felt like every time I go to sleep." He commented. "Awesome!"

"Anyway, the next city should be north, right?" Caleb asked.

"Yep, north." Hailey confirmed.

"What route are we going through?" Robyn asked.

"The route thataway." Flash pointed north of their position, just to be a smart aleck. He felt it was his mission to annoy the ever-loving crap out of Robyn at this point.

"Well yeah but what route specifically?" Robyn asked, annoyed by Flash's comment.

"Route 4, I think." Hailey put in. Casey spotted a sign saying clearly 'Route 4' on it, corroborating on Hailey's guess.

"Gods...just follow me." He snarked, heading up north. The group had followed him to Nimbasa.

-B2W2-

"We finally reached Nimbasa!" Hailey squealed, huggling Miniccino tightly. "I gotta look around... This place is LEGENDARY!"

"I hear there's an amusement park." Zorua said excitedly.

Hailey suddenly glanced at Robyn and Henry, her eyes narrowing evilly. "You two should check out the amusement park together..."

"Why are you forcing them to date?" Flash asked Hailey, mainly about that evil look in her eyes. "Am I detecting a Yandere?" If Flash knew anything about his old charge, is that Casey was really defensive over his girlfriend, kind of like a mother bear fighting for her cubs.

"I'm not FORCING them, I'm suggesting. They seem compatible." Hailey fake huffed. "And I don't think you're using that word correctly..."

"WHAT?!" They both shouted at what Hailey told them.

"What's your problem Hailey?!" Robyn shouted.

"All we are and ever will be is childhood friends. That's it!" Henry also shouted.

"I don't think Flash cares..." Caleb deadpanned. "On both counts of the matter."

"Nn, that's what they all say." Hailey giggled. "Whatever. I'mma go check out the musical. You all can do whatever you want, it's a free country." She walked off.

"Can we go... as friends?" Robyn asked glaring at Hailey at the last part.

"I never said you would be going together as anything else, I just suggested you two going together." Hailey called back at Robyn over her shoulder.

Flash waited till she was out of earshot, before he gave a nod to the two friends. "She said it herself. It's a free country." Robyn rolled her eyes before the two went with Flash. Then the ex-narrator realized what he got himself into. 'Why did I wind up going with these two?' He thought.

Zorua skipped merrily over to Caleb.

"What're you going to do, Caleb? Casey is probably going straight for the badges but do you want to check out the amusement park with me?"

Caleb thought about it for a second. "You know Zorua, I'm not all too sure..." He sighed, watching as Casey left for the Pokémon Center.

"Well, it doesn't really matter what you do first. We'll be here for a while, I think." Zorua said cheerily. "People seem to be taking their time."

"I honestly want this to be my time." He said. Zorua nodded understandingly.

"Imma check out that amusement park! See you later, Caleb!" Zorua skipped off cheerfully. "Flaaaaash! Wait up!" Zorua skipped after him.

(Soundtrack: Emotion from Pokemon X and Y)

This left Caleb alone, as he slumped up against a building wall. That building was the Battle Subway, and he didn't know it. But he didn't care.

"I just want to be the hero for once..." Gods, he feels like Luigi in the sense of the word. "But all the time I'm with those two." He was referring to Casey and Flash. "I can be a hero, and I can prove it. Maybe...just maybe...if I win the league I can finally get the respect I deserve." He was ranting to no one in particular. An Eevee trotted up to Caleb, blinking. It was out of his sight, and it didn't speak, just watched. He just looked at the Eevee. "You think I'm hero potential?" Little did he know, that this Eevee was Peanut.

"Maybe you're just being too hard on yourself... I was watching all of you guys in the sewers using my narrator powers, and...You and Zorua were all alone. You two should've been the weakest group, but you persevered through the challenge. You even managed to win against those Team Plasma guys, even though you were scared to be in the sewers separated from Casey." Peanut walked over and nuzzled Caleb's leg. "You're trying really hard, and you're being too hard on yourself. You're already a hero, so you don't have to try to be one. Getting over a fear is a big thing... I certainly can't do it...If you want to prove it to yourself by winning the Pokémon League, then fine. But you're already a hero to all of us, Caleb. When Casey calls you his prodigy, he means it. He thinks really highly of you. So don't feel down... You've already attained what you want; you just can't see it yet."

"Or maybe I'm just jealous my brother's fought a Legendary Pokémon and lived to tell the tale." That was a rather specific comment from Caleb. Peanut blinked. The sorcerer had remembered Casey and Flash had headed back to Hoenn on unfinished business, and they fought Kyogre in its Primal Form mostly on their own, and won. They even added the part where they sealed Kyogre away for good.

"Well, if that's the problem, then it's easily resolved!"

"It's that easy to fight a legendary?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, not right now...But I'm sure that in the near future, your time to fight a legendary will come! In fact, my narrator instincts are telling me it! You're going to fight a legendary, and it's really going to help everyone out!" Peanut paused, a realization coming to him via narrator powers.

"Hey, Caleb...Whatever's going on in this region right now, I have a really bad feeling about it... Even strong trainers like Casey and Hailey can't defeat it on their own...I think... No, I KNOW that you'll be really useful in the future... Casey won't be able to save the day without you this time."

"That's right." He grinned. "He needed someone to keep him alive back in Tellius, and when that battle...comes…" The sorcerer pulled out his bowgun and looked it over with a smile. "I'll show no quarter."

"Aye!" Peanut cheered. "Say, Caleb...I want to help too, so...We'll both help those close to us, alright?"

"I've done that for the past several years Peanut." He nodded. "I've been making sure Casey hasn't blown himself up- in a literal and metaphorical sense of the meaning- and I'll do what I can to make sure that doesn't happen."

Peanut nodded.

"And I'll look after Flash really well. Just thinking of what Alicia would do to me if I let Flash get hurt gives me shivers..." He actually shivered.

"Amen, buddy." Then thought, "Speaking of our loved ones, what's Casey been up to?"

_"I'm trying to get a hold of Ibuki-dono, Caleb. She's not answering for whatever reason."_ Casey walked up to his little brother, a grin on his face. "And I heard enough to know you're going to be vital to this expedition's success."

"You think I'll be able to pull it off?" He wondered.

"Bro, I know for a fact, you'll be able to." Casey knew his brother's power. He really did. How else would he have been able to beat him in their last battle together? However, that was back on Gamer's Island, and they both wound up in the hospital because of it, so he guessed it was a draw? Nah.

"Aye... I think every one of us will be crucial in one way or another..." Peanut agreed.

The guys looked at each other, Casey breaking the silence. "If we're going to be fighting a Legendary...any foresight on what it looks like?"

"Erm... I dunno... I haven't been to this region as it is now... It's changed a lot...But! G gave me a lot of upgrades when he cloned me, so my narrator instinct is really improved! I should know it when we're near it!" Peanut reassured.

"Same here..." The bros said in unison.

"Whatever the case may be, this whole 'Neo Team Plasma' deal might have connection with this legendary for all we know." Caleb theorized. "If Casey's stories from his past are anything to go by, Neo Team Plasma might be after one." Peanut seemed to agree with that.

"We have to be prepared to fight one."

"No kidding..." Casey then suggested, "Then to prepare, why not we get the rest of the Unova League badges?"

(Soundtrack: None)

"Aye!" Peanut then asked Casey, "...weren't you on your way to the gym yourself, Casey?"

"Actually, I went to the Pokémon Center to try and call my girl telling her I was okay." He admitted. "But that sounds like a plan!"

"You can call her once we're done there." Caleb told him. "If your plan is for us to collect all the gym badges and show Neo Team Plasma we aren't playing around, then we might as well get to work on that."

"Did you try using your lacrima?"

"Well, yeah I did. But she wasn't answering. I wonder why." He informed. Casey really hoped she was alright. They've only been gone for four days and now Casey decided to worry? Nonsense! He knew his girlfriend could handle herself!

'I hope she's okay...' Peanut thought, but decided not to worry Casey. "If she didn't pick up, she's probably busy. Maybe she'll pick up after the gym match!"

"I'll heal up my Pokémon, and I'll meet you guys there." Caleb went to heal up his team, and then Casey grinned, searching around town for the gym.

-B2W2-

The gym was pretty easy to spot, having a lightning bolt near it. It hit him, and he had a frown. "Oh joy...an electric type gym." If there was one thing Casey didn't particularly enjoy about electric type gyms, it was the new 'strategy' that he first noticed with Wattson had when he went back to Hoenn; Spam the living hell out of Volt Switch. He didn't have any Ground Types in that adventure to make the insanity stop, which pretty much got on his nerves. A lot.

He told Peanut about this, and then sighed. "How much you willing to bet whoever's inside is going to stoop that low with Volt Switch?" Peanut was reading a notebook titled 'Pokémon Notes'.

"According to G, I think this trainer STARTED that strategy..."

Cue anime sweatdrop. "I wonder what this person is like..." Casey mused as he walked in.

The place was really dark, and neither brother could see anything in there. He was a little nervous, to put it lightly. "Hello? Anyone here?" The journeyman called. Lights suddenly started flashing everywhere, and Casey found himself among a huge crowd. It was one of those runway fashion shows with the girls walking down and back... I can't describe it well, but you know what I mean.

"This looks like something out of one of those shows my Mom watched..." Casey commented. After their eyes adjusted to the light, he wondered if he should get on the catwalk or not. Peanut shuddered.

"This gym looks sickening..."

Casey slowly walked onto the catwalk. 'Okay, so if I were the gym leader, where would I be?' He thought to himself.

"Hey! You can't stay on the catwalk if you're weak, you know!" One of the girls had walked out, and sent out an Elekid. Casey's mind registered her comment as an insult to his power.

"What'd you say about me?" He took that as an insult, sending out Magby.

_'Hey, it's an Elekid! This should go just swell!'_ Magby joked, starting off with a Smokescreen. Elekid used Thundershock, but Magby ran out of the way, shooting an Ember at Elekid. The fire type attack hit its mark, Elekid shooting the same attack. This time Magby was hit, but quickly shook it off. _'Ow! So that's what it's like to be tazed!'_ Magby tried lightening the mood, attacking Elekid with Smog. Elekid coughed as it was hit. It used Thunder Wave…Magby evaded. _'Trying to paralyze me, huh? Not gonna work!'_ Another Ember was in order. Elekid went down because it was pathetically weak, and Flaffy came out in its place.

And Magby gloated a little bit before seeing his next opponent. _'Hey, uh, Casey! You got anything else for Flaafy?'_

Casey was actually considering sending out Garbodor...

"Alright Magby, take five." Casey recalled Magby. "By the way, it would be a shame if someone...dirtied up your outfit." Casey called out Garbodor, who had a (metaphorical) mile wide grin on his face now due to the Trash Heap Pokémon being called out.

Garbodor wasted no time, using Body Slam to take out the Flaffy.

The girl was beaten, and jumped off the catwalk.

"I guess you should start walking down the catwalk, Casey." Peanut said.

He recalled Garbodor, and continued down the catwalk. "Anyone else wanna insult me?" He taunted. Caleb entered the gym, following after Casey.

Another girl approached Casey, this time sending out another Flaffy. Servine was called out, Casey ready to battle.

_'Since when did Casey become a male model?'_ Servine joked, using Vine Whip. Flaffy was struck and attempted Thunderbolt, Servine, however, did what it could to move out of the way, going to move in with Wrap and probably choke the Flaaffy out.

Caleb's normally not this violent, as they would notice...in fact; he was now standing with Casey at this point. Flaffy was choked out and a Blitzle came out in its place.

"I'm starting to think Servine should be a wrestler..." Casey thought aloud. "Heyo, Servine, I think you should take five." He recalled Servine. "Okay, now Garbodor! Set up with Stockpile!" He called out the Trash Heap Pokémon and used said move, raising its defense and special defense by 1 apiece. Blitzle used Thundershock, and Peanut looked at Casey, then message really clear. 'One shot it.' Garbodor crashed down on Blitzle with Body Slam, having defeated it. The girl jumped off the catwalk, having lost, allowing the party to move forward. A third girl approached them.

"Which of you will be fighting me? You both pass when they win, but I have to be defeated as part of the gym challenge." She said in a friendly tone.

"I'll handle this one." Caleb told his brother. "Roggenrola, come on out!" He sent out his rock type. A Blitzle was sent out. Caleb looked at his Pokedex to see what moves Roggenrola knew.

**Roggenrola's known moves are Headbutt, Rock Blast, Iron Defense, and Smack Down.**

"Okay then, Roggenrola, go for a Headbutt!" The rock type went for Blitzle, attempting a Headbutt. Roggenrola easily beat Blitzle because it knew like zero moves that hurt rock types. An Elekid was sent out next; however Roggenrola used Rock Blast on Elekid.

The Elekid had fallen, Elesa now coming out.

When the guys got one look at her, both just...stared. Not in awe for Casey however.

**"Please tell me that this is a gym...and not a-"** Caleb cut him off before he could finish.

_"Don't go thinking this is a strip club, buddy."_

"Who's going first?" Elesa asked, producing a Poke Ball.

"Not it!" Casey suddenly shouted. Caleb was ready to battle and stepped forward. He got the inward feeling that Elesa wasn't naturally black haired. Maybe she dyed it?

An Emolga was up first, a Pokémon neither of them have seen before. "A flying squirrel..." Casey looked at this thing on his Pokedex.

**Emolga, the Sky Squirrel Pokémon. It glides on its outstretched membrane while shocking foes with the electricity stored in the pouches on its cheeks.**

"That gets rid of its ground type weakness...but it opens itself up to rocks and ice." Casey commented.

"Roggenrola, shoot that thing out of the air with Smack Down!" Caleb commanded, Roggenrola doing that. Emolga was shot down out of the sky, but it used Volt Swich to change out for a second Emolga.

"Oh here we go again..." Casey groaned.

"Smack Down on this Emolga as well!" Caleb shouted, Roggenrola using the move in question again. It worked, but Emolga used Volt Switch once more to switch out to Zebstrika.

"Hey Casey? Were electric type gym leaders always like this?" Caleb asked, his snarkiness rising with his annoyance.

"Apparently, this lady right here started this trend of what I like to call, 'The Volt Switch Drive-by'." Casey explained. "Spamming the ever loving crap out of Volt Switch unless you have a Ground Type is basically how it works. It's ridiculous!"

"And I'm not going to stand for it." Caleb growled. "Roggenrola, hunker down and use Iron Defense!" The rock type did just that, raising its defense by 2 stages.

"Flame Charge." Elesa ordered. Zebstrika used the attack with incredible speed. Roggenrola, thanks to the Iron Defense, withstood the attack, retaliating with Rock Blast.

**"Oh, so NOW you don't spam Volt Switch."** Caleb snarked. **"That or maybe Zebstrika doesn't know it..."**

Casey looked at his Pokedex to try and find that out, but it wouldn't work. Roggenrola actually sustained a surprising amount of damage from the not very effective attack. One more hit and it was down...but Caleb wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet. He let out a low growl. "Alright Roggenrola, if you're going to go down, then go down swinging! Rock Blast with everything you got!" Caleb shouted, a very visible anime tic mark on his head. Elesa should be somewhat concerned. Roggenrola, with what strength it could muster, used Rock Blast on Zebstrika. Zebstrika Flame Charged through it and connected, when...

Roggenrola started glowing.

"That light..." Caleb breathed.

"You know what that means, right?" Casey reminded. "It happened back in Virbank when we last saw it happen."

"I know Casey; I know...he's evolving!" The sorcerer watched on in awe as his Roggenrola evolved into Boldore! Zebstrika stopped short in shock, and Boldore was now laughing.

_'You scared now, dude?'_

"Hey Caleb. I think Boldore learned something new." Casey showed his brother his Pokedex. "Apparently upon evolution, Boldore learns Power Gem."

"That might turn the tide of battle greatly." The younger commented. "Boldore, use that new move! Power Gem!" Boldore used it, defeating the piss out of Zebstrika. An Emolga was sent out, but Boldore powered on through with Power Gem once again, repeating the process for the next one.

He recalled Boldore and took the badge. "Good luck, Case."

"Oh, I'll be alright." Casey was ready to battle! An Emolga was sent out first, Casey calling out Garbodor. "Okay, Garbodor, let's do this! Start with Stockpile!" Garbodor used Stockpile; the strategy here was to wait out the Volt Switching. Predictably, Emolga used Volt Switch and went out to the next one. "Stockpile again!" Garbodor used the move again, steeling itself against the barrage of Volt Switch Drive-bys. Emolga switched out to Zebstrika with Volt Switch, Casey not impressed. Garbodor used Body Slam, doing a number to Zebstrika. Volt Switch again, one of the Emolgas was sent out.

This proceeded onward until Casey had sweeped Elesa's team under the rug with Garbodor. Casey took the badge and recalled Garbodor. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." He commented.

"You both didn't lose even one Pokémon..." Peanut started trotting out of the gym. The guys walked out of the gym, Casey remembering to call his girl. He got out his lacrima and tried to call her again.

Peanut in the meantime, was chatting with Caleb. "What're you going to do next, now that the gym is beaten?"

"I guess we can wait for the others." Caleb shrugged.

-B2W2-

Back with the others…

"Flaaaaash! Wait up!" Zorua skipped after him.

"At least I won't suffer alone now." Flash muttered under his breath.

Zorua skipped gleefully over to Flash and the others. "Amusement paaaaaaark!" Keep in mind Zorua's like, a little kid.

"So who owns the Zorua?" Henry asked as they walked.

"Hey! You can talk to me directly, you know!" Zorua huffed. "No one 'owns' me, for your information!"

"Whoa! Since when did you talk?" Henry asked Zorua.

"Ever since I met him, he's been able to speak English." Flash explained. "And when we first met him it wasn't during a...pleasant time; but hey. I've seen stranger things happen." He honestly meant no offense by that. And if one counts slaughtering a bunch of black and white robotic teddy bears in an effort to get their base, then Flash's life was anything but normal.

"Oh uh okay then. So then if you don't belong to any of us then why are you with us?" He asked. Zorua's ears drooped.

"Well... I thought that since they're my friends, they wouldn't mind me tagging along on their adventure..." Zorua looked down.

Henry noticed this. "Oh um well I'm sorry if I struck something. I didn't mean it." He said apologetically.

"And I saw no problem in it, bud." Flash grinned.

"I guess so...But what was the point in me coming..." Zorua sighed. "I guess I wanted to experience something new... I don't see why a Pokémon has to be a trainer Pokémon to be friends with a trainer."

"You have me, Zorua." Flash reminded.

Henry nodded. This Pokémon was smarter than even he thought. He noticed Robyn over at one of the rides before she made her way to the Ferris wheel. "Hey guys let's go in the Ferris wheel." She called over to them.

"Yeah, I've heard that it's really cool!" Zorua exclaimed, his mood brightening up. He skipped after Robyn. Then Flash, after a little self-nagging, decided to go to the Ferris wheel with them.

Henry smiled and ran after him as they entered. Robyn took a seat on one side and Henry on the other. "I can't wait to see the view. How about you guys?" She asked.

"I just don't want to be trapped up at the top." Flash quickly stated. "Not my definition of fun."

"Really? Why's that Flash?" Henry asked.

"Well, that could be for a variety of reasons. The one I hoping doesn't happen? Someone deliberately cutting the power." He answered.

"We won't, Flash." Zorua reassured, jumping onto the seat next to Robyn.

-B2W2-

After Casey finished calling his girlfriend, Caleb wondered, "I wonder if Hailey's still at the musical..." That thought seemed to be stuck with the boys. After a few minutes, Hailey came humming along, carrying a dressed up Minccino.

"That was fun!"

"What exactly did you do? Aside from playing dress up?" Casey asked.

"I had Minccino take part in an opera of sorts... It was exciting to watch, but battles are admittedly funner." Hailey said. "I should head to the gym next."

"Just be ready for the gym leader to spam Volt Switch, a strategy I like to call 'Volt Switch Drive-by.'" Casey informed.

"Oh, I have a ground type. Shouldn't be too hard." Hailey reassured.

"Can we see it?" Caleb inquired. "Or is that a no?"

"Sure." Hailey produced a Poke Ball and sent out a Rhyperior. Both boys stared at it, jaws wide open.

"Sweet mother of the divine dragon..." Casey breathed.

"This big guy will definitely win me an electric type badge." Hailey grinned and patted Rhyperior's head fondly.

"Well...you do that." Caleb nervously chuckled, a very visible anime sweatdrop on the brother's heads. Hailey walked off. She was back within ten minutes, holding the badge.

"Done!"

"The next city's across a bridge from here, apparently." Casey, having gotten over his shock, informed. "Now we just wait for the others."

-B2W2-

Back with the others, Zorua blinked, looking down from their seats. "...wow, the view IS really good!" The other two teens looked out with amazement in their eyes. Flash however, was not feeling the same.

"We going to get down from here anytime soon?" Flash half asked, half complained. In retaliation, Zorua tail slapped his whining friend. Flash was tail slapped. "I just hope that Casey hasn't blown himself to smithereens yet." He then said to himself.

"Let's hope not." Robyn said. "The ride's almost done."

"Nah, Elesa is a pushover. He'll be fine. I'm more worried about Caleb." Zorua reassured.

"Zorua, I'm not talking about his gym battle. I'm talking about it in a literal sense." Flash deadpanned. Zorua sweatdropped wordlessly, but the ex-narrator then mused, "Yeah, now that I think about it he'll be fine."

"Uh guys... The rides over." Henry informed as he and Robyn were looking at them from outside the Ferris wheel cart.

"Oh good. Now let's go see how they did." Flash mused, getting out.

Zorua hopped off and went over to Robyn and Henry. "So, what do we do now? Meet up with the others?" Then he thought of something. "...wait, where's Peanut? Wasn't he with us?" Flash thought about it, the worst popping in his head first.

(Soundtrack: Oh No! From Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky)

**"Oh f*** me..."** He was afraid that Peanut was gone. Zorua sweatdropped.

"Oh no. This is not good. This is not good at all." Robyn grimaced.

"Let's go find the others. He probably got lost and went to the gym." Henry and Robyn pitched in on doing what they could to reassure Flash.

"Quick. Let's look around. He couldn't have gotten too far." Henry tried reassuring, already beginning his search.

"We could just call Case." Flash told the others. He looked at Zorua, mouthing, 'I'll call him' as he was getting out his lacrima.

-B2W2-

Back with the other half of the Unova group, Peanut was scratching his head. "I told Flash I wasn't coming with him, right...?" No he didn't.

-B2W2-

'And quickly!' Zorua mouthed back. Flash wasted no time calling the journeyman.

"Hey Flash, what's up?" Casey asked on the other end.

"You have any idea where Peanut is?" Flash asked.

"Uh yeah, he's with us." Peanut hopped up onto Casey's shoulder and waved to Flash.

"Hehe... I forgot to tell you that I wanted to go talk to Caleb... Sorry..." Peanut apologized.

"Oh it's alright. What we want to know is where you guys are at." Flash told them.

"We're outside the gym. Are any of you three going to challenge this one?" Hailey put in, looking in the crystal.

"Nah, I just want to get to the next city." Flash then turned to Henry and Robyn. "You two wanna challenge the gym here?"

"I'm not sure either of us are ready for a gym." Henry said.

"Yeah it hasn't been too long for us as Pokémon trainers." Robyn added.

"Then let's head to Driftveil." Hailey decided. "Meet us in front of the gym and we'll leave."

"Alright, we're on our way then." Flash hung up, heading towards the gym to regroup with the others, Zorua, Henry and Robyn coming along.

-B2W2-

"Well where to now?" Casey wondered.

"Bro, we've been over this." Caleb deadpanned. "The next city, Driftveil, is to the west of here I think, so that's where we're going." When everyone regrouped, Zorua decided to go over the route.

"Next is Driftveil! The ground gym is there. Let's go, it's this way!" He began skipping along, the group heading out with him.

**CHAPTER 4 END**

(And that's that. Chapter 5 is where things start going to hell and the drama REALLY ramps up. How will the group survive? Will someone kill a group member? And who will be the final person to join the party? You'll find out when Chapter 5 gets posted, so read, follow, favorite and REVIEW! Casey and Caleb could really use the support. Lata! -Flash)


	7. Chapter 5 Dig Up Old Wounds

(Yes, here we are! This is the chapter where everything starts going horribly wrong emotion wise. So be ready for that, and our final hero to join the party! If you haven't figured it out yet, then you will this chapter when she joins the group. Let's get to it!

The Reviews:

SHSL Hope G Komaeda: Yes, this is why I'm going to split the Driftveil arc in two. The main part being one chapter, and the World Tournament being another intermission.)

**CHAPTER 5: Dig Up Old Wounds; Meeting Up With Other Pals!**

"Ground...if I remember correctly, it's common that Water and Grass types will do exceptionally well." Flash commented.

"So I should have the upper hand here, right?" Casey beamed as the trio followed Zorua.

"Don't get your hopes up." Peanut nodded.

"Meanwhile, Caleb will have a harder time..." The Eevee glanced at Caleb, the sorcerer not paying it too much mind. The group was stopped when they reached Route 5.

"There's a Pokémon I want to catch here. Give me some time." She announced before abruptly leaving. Zorua sweatdropped. The boys looked around to notice there were a few street performers in the area, as well as gang members. Robyn looked around.

"I'm also going to go searching for Pokémon." She said before disappearing like Hailey did.

"What with the girls disappearing like that?" Henry asked. Casey looked around the route.

"Who knows?" Zorua shrugged. "They like Pokémon a lot, I guess."

"This looks like somewhere that Ibuki-dono would be if she was a street musician, and here." Casey commented.

"You miss her, don't you?" Caleb asked.

The journeyman sighed. "A bit." Truth be told, he really did miss his girlfriend. He was wondering how she was holding up, hoping that the craziness of the island didn't get the better of her. But then again, both of them lived on the island for a long time now, Casey having been on the island for over a year now. Peanut was now tugging on Casey's pant leg.

"I can bring her here, if you want..." Casey had a huge grin on his face.

"I will owe you big time if you do that." He gleefully stated.

"I'll only do it if you call her and she agrees to come." Peanut made that last part very clear, as Casey already had his lacrima out.

(Soundtrack: 'Nothing Left to Lose' by Heaven's Basement)

"Knowing her, she would." Caleb whispered to Peanut.

"Will do!" Casey called up Ibuki, who was on the other end.

"Ayo, Casey-chan!" She greeted. "What's up?"

"I'm in the Unova region right now, and I would love it if you would be here with me." He told her. "Wanna tag along for the ride?"

The guitarist thought about it. Did she want to go on this adventure with him? Now normally any regular person who just wanted to have a normal life would be reluctant, but Mioda was not that kind of person. After a minute, she responded with, "Send Ibuki on over!"

Peanut pulled out his own lacrima and started chattering away in Pokémon language. He put it away after a few moments.

-B2W2-

Over with Ibuki, she was strumming away on her guitar, having not hung up on Casey yet. She was sitting on one of the couches in the penthouse she lived in with the brothers and Flash (Zorua and Peanut as well) back on Gamer's Island. An Abra appeared next to Ibuki.

"Hiiiiiiii! I'm Peanut Mark 5!" He greeted.

"You here to take Ibuki to Unova?" The guitarist asked the obvious, Peanut Mk. 5 holding his hand out for the musician to take. He didn't need to say anything further. With her guitar in one hand, she used her free hand to take the one Peanut Mk. 5 was holding out to her, and within a minute, she was teleported to the Unova Region right next to Casey.

-B2W2-

The realization sunk in for four seconds...then Casey and Ibuki huggled each other. "Welcome to Unova, Ibuki-dono!" Casey cheerily greeted. With that, Peanut Mk. 5 poofed away.

(Soundtrack: None)

"So now what?" Caleb asked.

"Ibuki's thinking the same thing!" The guitarist chirped. She had just arrived in unfamiliar land; of course she would be wondering what to do! She looked at Casey expectantly, knowing he's had experience with Pokémon regions before.

"Well, we wait till Hailey and Robyn get back...but in the meantime, why not Caleb and I do a little training?" Casey suggested.

"We'll get Ibuki a Pokémon a bit later." Peanut walks over to Flash, his part of the bargain done. "Training should do you two good, though!"

"I could use some training to. Mind if I join?" Henry asked.

"Oh, Henry. This is my girlfriend, Ibuki Mioda. She has the title of Ultimate Musician." Casey informed. "But I just call her a guitarist seeing as she prefers playing said instrument."

"Nice ta meet cha!" Ibuki cheerily said to Henry.

"Nice to meet you to Ibuki!" Henry greeted.

"Same to you, Henry-chan." She smiled.

"Hm... Maybe you guys should practice battle." Zorua suggested. "If Flash joins in, that's four trainers. You can practice doing tag battles. You're all probably stronger than the trainers here, anyway."

Henry was now looking to Zorua. "Including me?" He inquired. Zorua nodded to that.

"In total, Casey, Caleb, Henry, and Flash! Two trainers against the other two! Does that sound good?"

"I don't see the problem with that." Flash shrugged, looking at Casey. "Caleb, you're with Henry." Peanut darted in front Flash, ready to go.

-B2W2-

Meanwhile, Robyn was on the hunt for some new Pokémon; however she did not yet notice there was an Emolga in the trees. That Emolga had one mission; Glomp Robyn. Once Robyn was in position, Emolga began to fly straight at Robyn, the latter noticing the former. "Oh wow. She is so cute! I have to catch her." She squealed grabbing a Poke Ball.

Too little, too late, as Robyn would soon discover. Emolga was closing in on Robyn, shouting, _'Love me!'_ And then the Emolga attached herself to Robyn's face. Robyn screamed, not expecting this as she grabbed her and tried to pull her off. Emolga was holding on as tight as it could and laughing at Robyn's expense. A Gothita was nearby, watching this whole spectacle. Its eyes were fixated on the Emolga.

"GET OFF! GET OFF! GET OFF!" Robyn screams were muffled by the Pokémon being on her face. Emolga got off, but then she threw a Volt Switch to cover her escape. _'Later, loser!'_ She taunted as it flew away. Robyn yelped when she was electrocuted and now sat on the ground, dazed and with her hair messed up.

Gothita then walked over to Robyn. _'You alright?'_ The psychic type asked.

"Ow my head." Robyn said as she placed her hand on her head and felt her hair, which of course was all frizzy thanks to the Volt Switch. "Aww man. That Emolga made my hair go on the frizz." She whined.

_'Yeah, that's Emolga for you.'_ Gothita rolled her eyes. _'She loves to mess with people like that.'_

(Soundtrack: 'Stalwarts Unite' from Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn)

Robyn shook her head. "Who is that?" She asked looking up and around, not seeing the Gothita below her. Gothita was poking Robyn now.

_'I'm down here!'_ She said. Robyn looked down and saw Gothita.

"Aww you are so cute!" She squealed.

_'Yeah, I know I'm adorable.'_ Gothia smirked. _'Hey, this sounds crazy and sudden, but can I come with you?'_

"Really? But why?" Robyn asked.

_'I wanna get back at Emolga, that's why. She had no right to attack you.'_ Gothita answered. If there was one thing this Gothita couldn't stand, it was Emolga's constant trolling of people, and she wanted to bring a stop to it.

"Aww you are so sweet! Well in that case I would love you to join me! Now your nickname." She said beginning to think. After a minute or two of deliberation with herself, she decided on naming Gothita 'Wendy'. Robyn smiled and grabbed one of her Poke Balls and held it out to her new partner. Wendy pressed the button on the Poke Ball, effectively letting herself be sucked in to the Poke Ball.

1...

2...

3...

Success!

"YAY I GOT GOTHITA! ...Er... WENDY!" Robyn shouted happily, correcting herself on the name.

-B2W2-

Back with the others…

The journeyman and ex-narrator looked at each other, Flash saying, **"Case, send out Garbodor. I think it's time we get a good laugh, eh?"**

**"Sure thing."** Casey had a wide grin on his face before asking Henry, "Hey, you remember that Trubbish you didn't catch back in Castelia?"

Caleb had already called out Magnemite, hearing what Flash said to Casey. Were they seriously going to make a joke out of something that happened yesterday? Henry had nodded and tossed out Howler the Lillipup. Casey then, with a wide grin, sent out Garbodor.

Henry took a moment to let the realization kick in. Casey had caught a Pokémon that he wanted to get earlier, and now it was a Garbodor. "You have got to be kidding me." He frowned.

"I kid you not." Casey responded. Flash was laughing his arse off at his reaction.

"Are we gonna battle or what?" Caleb glared. Ibuki started tuning her guitar, looking at them with an expression that was asking if she could play some music during the battle. Zorua was sitting next to Mioda.

"You should play, I'm sure they won't mind." He encouraged her.

"Okay!" She then began strumming out a song to the practice match.

(Soundtrack: 'Bat Country' by Avenged Sevenfold)

"I'm ready when you are." Henry told his opponents mockingly.

"Since we're so nice, we'll let you two have the first move." Flash offered. He was really being sarcastic about that first part. He had a mean streak to him, even so much as telling people off when they really need it.

"Alright then. Magnemite, Thundershock on Garbodor!" Caleb shouted, the Electric/Steel type doing just that. Garbodor took the hit, but shook it off.

"Howler, use Baby-Doll Eyes!" Henry called out, the Puppy Pokémon widening his eyes at the two opposing Pokémon like he was in an anime or some sort of manga. Garbodor stared back at Howler. Casey thought it was the cutest thing ever...until he remembered Lillipup was a dog, and winced a little from it.

'Wimp.' Caleb thought, thinking his brother's fear of dogs was more irrational than anything. Caleb really never understood Casey's rational thinking for being afraid of dogs.

"Peanut, go after Howler!" Flash requested. "I don't care what you attack him with, though." Mainly because he wanted to know what Peanut knew. That or he was too lazy to look it up on his Pokedex. Peanut used Leer on Howler, not very impressed with the Baby-Doll Eyes that Howler was trying to sell. Howler then suddenly went from looking cute to growling and glaring at Peanut. "Howler, Tackle attack!" Howler did so charging straight at him.

"Garbodor, go for a Body Slam on Magnemite!" Casey shouted. The Trash Heap Pokémon leisurely sauntered over to Magnemite, jumped a whole five centimeters in the air, and landed on Magnemite. "Dodge and counterattack!" Flash commanded.

Garbodor got off of Magnemite, and sauntered back to where it was standing. "Set up with Stockpile!" Casey said, the Poison type doing just that. Peanut dodged out of Howler's way, and surprised Flash and Casey when he used Thunderbolt.

"Magnemite, you okay?" Caleb asked.

_'Yes. I am functioning alright, thank you for asking.'_ Magnemite responded.

"Good. Give Garbodor a Supersonic!" The sorcerer commanded. The Electric/Steel type did as it was told, confusing Garbodor.

Howler took the attack from Peanut.

"Bite!" Howler did so attempting to sink his teeth into Peanut's back. Peanut squeaked in pain as Howler sank his teeth into him.

"Garbodor, snap out of it!" Casey begged. The Trash Heap Pokemon was too busy pimp slapping himself to even pay attention, causing Casey to facepalm and recall Garbodor. "Magby, help Peanut!" He ordered.

"Peanut, try focusing your back towards Magby! He'll get Howler off!" Flash commanded, staying cool under pressure. Peanut turned Howler toward Magby, using helping hand at the same time. However, Caleb had other ideas.

"Magnemite, stop Magby with Sonicboom!" Caleb shouted.

_'Scuse me for a second, Peanut.'_ Magby dodged the attack, launching an Ember at Magnemite, defeating it. Then he turned back to Peanut's direction and shot an Ember aimed at Howler's behind.

Howler did what he did best. Howl... in pain that was!

"Howler!" Henry shouted. The little puppy jumped up as he released Peanut and began to drag his flaming behind across the dirt.

"Thanks to Casey's swap out, it looks like Flash and Casey have taken the lead!" Zorua cheered. The fox felt it was his responsibility to be that announcer guy for the battle.

_'Yeah, that and the fact I'm awesome.'_ Magby bragged.

Caleb recalled Magnemite, and then sent out Pignite. "Fight fire with fire. That's something even you do, Casey."

Flash, meanwhile, had stifled his laughter watching Howler. Honestly, he found this whole thing funny. Peanut on the other hand, scampered over to Magby and sat next to him, blinking at Howler's pain.

_'Yeah, I might have aimed in the wrong place.'_ Magby shrugged. _'All's fair in love and war, I s'pose.'_

"Howler, use Helping Hand!" Henry shouted. Howler quickly complied after he felt his buns cool off.

"Pignite, give Magby an Arm Thrust!" Caleb ordered. The Fire Pig went over to smack Magby with his extended arm...but the attack went over the Live Coal Pokémon's head. Because height differences and all. Peanut glanced up at Pignite, sweatdropping at the utter miss. He decided that this was too big a chance to miss up on, and straight up take downed the pig in the stomach. Even Ibuki sweatdropped at the utter miss, continuing to play her song.

_'Dude, it's not my fault you're taller than me!_' Magby defended. He shot an Ember at Pignite, not doing much. Howler went to use Tackle on Peanut again. "Same old song and dance, my friend!" Flash commanded, Peanut dodging and using Thunderbolt on Howler once more. Howler managed to dodge this time, using Bite and having Peanut squeak in pain.

_'Hey, leave my pal alone!'_ Magby shouted, shooting another Ember at Howler to intercept him.

"Pignite, Tackle on Magby again!" Caleb shouted. Pignite rushed forward. Howler dodged the Ember thanks to Pignite's involvement, causing Peanut to get lit up from the attack.

"Uaaaaaaah! Hoooooooot!" Peanut started running around in pain. And when that happened, Pignite slammed into Magby, taking him down.

"Well that was humiliating..." Casey sighed. Caleb stuck his tongue out at his older brother.

"And Caleb evens the score, taking out Casey's Pokémon! Not to mention Peanut just took two significant hits! Things are not looking good for Casey and Flash!" Zorua narrated excitedly, annoying Flash slightly.

_'I am more awesome than you, ya puny firebug!'_ Pignite taunted. Casey didn't take kindly to the tone of that comment, sending out Servine.

_'Oh look. It's the nutjob starter.'_ Servine teased.

_'Who're you calling a nutjob?'_ Pignite sounded offended.

Servine slinked forward, using Wrap on Pignite to put him in some sort of wrestling move. _'You are, Pignite.'_ He informed. Peanut stopped running around and was now looking at Servine.

"Thats kinda mean..." He frowned. With the help of the Helping Hand that Howler provided, Pignite threw Servine off him, only to get glared at with a Leer, and then slapped several times with Vine Whip. However, Pignite took the attacks and retaliated with Ember. Howler jumped in with a Tackle attack. Servine however, dodged the Ember just barely, then used Vine Whip to grab Howler. Peanut then began unleashing a steady stream of thunderbolts on the immobile puppy.

Howler screamed as he was attacked and helpless to defend himself. But this wasn't Servine's plan at all.

_'I'LL SAVE YOU!'_ Pignite roared, rushing towards Servine with a Tackle. However, Servine just looked at Pignite and proceeded to toss Howler his direction, having fallen for his trick hook, line and sinker. Peanut quickly scampered to the side, watching as Pignite hurtled straight at Lillipup.

_'Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap-' _Pignite repeated as Howler was thrown at him, and both went down from it.

_'And that's why...whatever.'_ Servine huffed.

"Ooh! Casey and Flash take the lead again as Servine almost effortlessly defeats its fire type counterpart!" Zorua cheered, bouncing up and down in excitement. "It's a double knock out! Without taking a single hit, Servine took down both Pignite and Lilypup! Servine is definitely a formidable opponent! Casey and Flash now have a two Pokémon lead, having knocked out three Pokémon, while only losing one Pokémon!"

"Well that won't be the case for long. Broham, GO!" Henry shouted calling out his Tepig.

Caleb recalled Pignite. "Seriously Case, what's gotten into Servine?" Flash had to ask.

"I dunno. As long as it wins me the next gym badge, I won't complain." Casey rolled it off his shoulders.

'Alright, let's see here...what can I use against Casey that would help me out here?' Then it hit him. "Alright Qwilfish! You're my last hope!" He called the Balloon Pokémon out.

_'Duh...'_ Qwilfish was derping.

_'Oh...crap...'_ Servine hissed. He knew about Qwilfish's Poison typing, and Poison types were super-effective against grass types. Qwilfish, however, led off with Rollout. Peanut looked rejuvenated, instantly preparing to attack. Strangely enough, if Flash was paying attention, he seemed to have his sights set on Qwilfish.

"Peanut! You know what to do!" Flash encouraged. Peanut instantly unleashed a powerful thunderbolt on the incoming Qwilfish. In an attempt to stop it, Broham launched an Ember at it.

Sadly however, it didn't work. In an almost comical fashion, Qwilfish deflated like a balloon, landing at the sorcerer's feet as it fainted.

**"Why me..."** He frowned. Zorua then decided to unwillingly kick Caleb while he was down.

"Looks like Caleb forgot about Peanut's electric type attacks when he made his selection, because Qwilfish is down! Casey and Flash are even further ahead!" Zorua narrated, causing Caleb to inwardly growl at Zorua, feeling a little ashamed of himself hearing the narration. At this rate he might as well give up his dream of winning the Unova League.

What did he know about Pokémon? All he knew about them was what his brother told him about his glory days in the Pokémon regions. Caleb felt like he had no chance of proving his worth to Casey at this point, but he tried to remember what Peanut told him earlier. 'You've already attained what you want; you just can't see it yet.' He wanted to, but was just a little humiliated his brother and Flash were beating him this badly.

He calmly sent out Sewaddle after recalling Qwilfish.

"You've hit the bottom of the barrel now, haven't you Caleb?" Flash taunted.

"Flash, I have a sniper rifle with me." Caleb hissed. "And I wouldn't feel ashamed in using it."

Henry growled. "Broham, Tackle!" Broham did so and went for the weaker one. Peanut. And it worked.

"Oh! Looks like Peanut's down! What will Flash do now?" Zorua narrated dramatically. Peanut Mk. 5 appeared next to Flash. The Abra tugged at Flash's leg, as if motioning it would fight next.

"Go forth, Abra!" Flash pointed after picking up Peanut and holding him in his arms. Ibuki was playing a somber melody on her guitar now.

(Soundtrack: 'Dance with the Devil' by Breaking Benjamin)

Peanut Mk. 5 floated slowly over next to Servine. Before Servine or Peanut Mk. 5 could react, Sewaddle had attacked with String Shot, hitting home right in between Servine's eyes. Broham added onto attacking the grass type and fired an Ember at Servine. Servine did what it could to get out of the way, however the Ember was not nessecary as Sewaddle began nibbling on the area between Servine's eyes, causing the grass type to start stumbling around, and right out of the Ember's way.

"That's Bug Bite." Casey breathed in realization.

"Abra, attack Broham!" Flash commanded. Abra stayed still. Suddenly, a ring of light green lights surrounded him. They shot at Broham with alarming speed. Hidden Power! Broham was hit but didn't take too much damage. Broham then went to tackle the Abra. Peanut Mk. 5 took the tackle, but recovered very quickly.

"Servine, stay calm and use Vine Whip to get Sewaddle off you!" Casey shouted. Servine didn't need to be told twice as the Bug/Grass type was grabbed and thrown to the ground rather hard.

"Sewaddle!" Caleb cried out in distress. As Sewaddle struggled to get up, a light enveloped him. Sewaddle had evolved into Swadloon!

_'You'll pay for your insolence, Servine.'_ Swadloon calmly said. Caleb quickly got out his Pokedex scanning Swadloon.

**Swadloon, the Leaf-Wrapped Pokémon, and the evolved form of Sewaddle. Preferring dark, damp places, it spends the entire day eating fallen leaves that lie around it.**

Broham attacked with Ember at Servine, taking the grass type down.

_'That was rather satisfying.'_ Swadloon said to Broham.

_'Very.'_ Broham replied, smiling.

"And Servine finally goes down! Casey and Flash are still in the lead, however." Zorua announced.

"And then Leavanny comes next, I suppose." Caleb mused.

"That was luck!" Casey shouted. "I'm not out of this yet!"

"Abra, what else you got in your bag of tricks?" Flash inquired. Peanut Mk. 5 focused for a moment... And then teleported. Broham prepared himself for Peanut Mk. 5 to reappear.

"Alright Garbodor, show 'em that was just luck!" Casey called out Garbodor after recalling Servine. Without a sound, Peanut Mk. 5 appeared behind Swadloon and Tepig. Swadloon casually turned around to face the Abra. Or at least, he had a feeling that's what the Teleport was for. Broham did so too and quickly tried to attack with Tackle. However, it was in vein as the Abra used Teleport a second time, having diverted their attention away from Garbodor, and the Trash Heap Pokémon, taking this opportunity, attacked Swadloon with Sludge. Attempted to, of course, unless Broham wants to try anything funny. Broham saw the attack and intercepted it. But in doing so took great damage and also got poisoned.

"Broham!" Henry cried out. Swadloon was surprised with what happened.

_'Well I'll be...'_ He said. Broham was taking damage from the poisoning, as Peanut Mk. 5 used Hidden Power on Broham again. Swadloon tried to pull Broham out of the way with String Shot.

Broham was pulled but not before part of the attack hit. With the blow and another hit from the poisoning was enough to cause the pig to faint. "Broham!" Henry shouted as he ran out and picked up the small Pokemon. "Thank you buddy. You did amazing out there. Get some rest."

_'Thanks.'_ Broham nodded before he was returned.

"Alright. It. Is. On." Henry said as he tossed out Vile.

_'Wassup homies!'_ Vile shouted.

"Looks like we're almost done here." Ibuki mused, continuing to play on her guitar. Zorua nodded to Ibuki.

"Looks like Casey and Flash are pulling ahead once again!"

"Swadloon, be ready to evade Garbodor's attack!" Caleb shouted.

_'Understood.'_ Swadloon agreed.

"Not for long. Now Vile, use Bite on Abra!" Henry shouted. Vile lunged forward to bite said Abra on the arm.

"Garbodor, hit 'em with Sludge!" Casey shouted.

"Teleport!" Flash shouted at Abra. Peanut Mk. 5 Teleported out of the way just in time to evade. Which meant Vile bit the air and skidded across the ground. He looked around confused.

"Don't freak out Vile. Just wait for him." Henry called out.

Vile nodded. _'You got it boss.'_ He then closed his eyes and waited. The Abra, however, appeared behind Garbodor.

"Quick, trap them both with Sand Tomb!" Henry shouted and quickly did so sending a Sand Tomb at the two as fast as he could. He would succeed as Garbodor and Abra were caught in the Sand Tomb. "Vile, Dig!" Vile did so and dug underground. Where will he come up? No one knows. Who will he attack? I don't know that either.

"Go for it Vile! Use Bite!" Henry shouted. Suddenly Vile popped up and hit Garbodor. Then bounded off the gargantuan trash heap and went to bite Abra. Peanut Mark 5 was taken by surprise and defeated.

"And Flash is down! Looks like Casey's on his own!" Zorua narrated excitedly. Ibuki let out a sudden shout.

"Zorua-chan! You made Ibuki lose her spot in this song!" She complained. Zorua sweatdropped.

"Sorry Ibuki...Flash, come sit with us and watch!"

"I don't see why not." Flash shrugged, sitting next to Mioda. "This'll be over soon anyway, seeing as Casey hasn't sent out his ace yet."

"I hope he doesn't use Embrace... She doesn't need training, and this is supposed to be a training match..."

"He knows if he does I'll make sure his face makes friends with the cold, hard dirt." Flash reassured.

Garbodor was bit, and tried to swat Vile away. Vile was knocked back and skidded to a stop by Swadloon, the Leaf-Wrapped Pokémon still using Razor Leaf to attack Garbodor. Vile stood up and he trembled. He seemed to have been weakened quite a bit. However, Vile began glowing!

"We got this Vile! I believe in the two of you! Let's win this together!" Henry shouted, encouraging his partner. This is when he noticed Vile glowing. "What the?!"

'And seeing as we might be on a schedule here...' Flash thought, looking at Vile. 'Evolution. Awesome.'

Ibuki looked on, witnessing the glow. "What's it doing?"

"It's evolving, just like Swadloon did before!" Zorua explained to Ibuki. "Evolution is when a Pokemon gets strong enough to gain a new, more powerful form!"

Flash! Bang! Zap! Vile is now a Krokorok!

"AWESOME! VILE YOU EVOLVED!" Henry shouted happily. Henry couldn't help himself as he ran over to his Pokémon and the two hugged and cheered.

"Wow..." She was excited to hear that.

"Not every Pokémon can evolve that way. Some need a stone, some need a factor thrown in, and there was even one case where a Pokémon needed to reach a certain level of power while fighting in the rain." Flash added.

"Some Pokémon can't even evolve, and some can evolve less than others. There are all sorts of methods to evolve Pokémon, including the methods Flash just described." Zorua added.

"Some don't evolve at all or choose not to." Henry also added. "Now let's finish this!" He shouted.

"Well, Pokémon are people too, Zorua-chan." Ibuki agreed. "They have their own choices to make."

_'Indeed.'_ Swadloon agreed.

Zorua sweatdropped. "I happen to be a Pokémon myself, remember?! I'mma have to choose whether I evolve or not someday..."

"I'll tell you what I told Hailey then." Flash responded. "Take your time with that choice. It's best not to rush it and later regret it."

Zorua sweatdropped more. "Save it. I'm not a battling Pokémon, so I don't level up much. I won't have to evolve anytime soon..." Flash looked away, a little discouraged from what Zorua told him.

Garbodor wasted no time throwing another Sludge at the Bug/Grass type, but Vile swung his tail and smashed the attack before it could connect. Garbodor used Body Slam on Swadloon then. Now Vile grabbed Swadloon and jumped out of the way. After setting him down, Henry shouted for him to use Sand Attack but the next thing he did was use Swagger. "Whoa! He learned a new attack!" Henry shouted.

"And to think Swagger wasn't used in the way we use it today." Caleb mused to himself. Garbodor's attack rose yes, but he was confused once more.

"And Casey doesn't have any Pokémon to switch him out to, which means he'll have to snap out of it on his own!" Zorua gasped.

"Not unless my Ground type takes out his Poison type. Now Vile, Dig." Vile jumped up and dug his way down into the earth.

"Running now might be a good idea, Ibuki-san." Flash warned casually.

"Why is that?" She had to ask.

"Confused Pokémon are rather unpredictable." He answered. "So much so they can even...do things that'll either hurt itself, or in rare cases, other people." Vile then erupted from underneath and dealt a blow to the confused Garbodor. To which there were two things to that. One, it hit, and two, it was super effective, weakening Garbodor enough for Swadloon to land the final attack with Razor Leaf.

"Caleb and Henry win! In fact, neither of them even got down to their last Pokémon!" Zorua cheered. "Everyone reaped the benefits of training, too! ...except Casey."

(Soundtrack: None)

"YEAH! WAY TO GO VILE!" Henry shouted as he hugged the Desert Croc Pokémon. Robyn did return at this point holding little Wendy the Gothita in her arms.

"Hey guys look what I got." She then saw Vile. "UM, what is that?" She asked. Casey was not in a good mood from that last bit of said comment from the fox.

"Let's just go. Now." He then walked off to the bridge at the end of the route, not saying another word to anyone before recalling his Pokémon.

"I think you went a little too far, Zorua." Caleb informed. "Now my brother's in a pissy mood."

"I was just pointing out that all the people who were actually training got an evolution except him..." Zorua hopped down and trotted over to Caleb.

"You guys weren't gonna ditch me, were you?" Hailey emerged from the bushes, an Emolga in her arms. "This little guy was hard to find..."

"Oh, Casey already has." Flash jerked his thumb in the direction the journeyman went. "He took something Zorua said the wrong way." Then to Zorua, "It's not the first time he's misinterpreted something."

Hailey sighed. "Let's calm him down, then..."

"Casey-chan!" Ibuki called. "Wait up!" She ran after him, leaving Caleb and Flash to just exchange glances, the former ignoring Zorua's comment.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Caleb asked.

**"Remember the last time he went there?"** Flash responded.

"Never mind then." The sorcerer deadpanned.

"It's Vile he evolved." Henry told Robyn.

Robyn nodded impressed. She then saw Hailey and saw the Emolga that Hailey had. "WHAT?! IS THAT THE SAME EMOLGA THAT SHOCKED MY FACE?!" Robyn shouted pointing at it.

She blinked at Robyn. "Um... No...?"

"How do you know?" Robyn asked.

"I... Don't I guess? She doesn't seem to recognize you." Hailey pointed out. Emolga was just blinking at Robyn.

"His girlfriend's going to work on that. She'll be fine." Caleb reassured.

"Good." Hailey nodded at Caleb.

"Music soothes the savage beast, after all." He added. "Now are we gonna move on to Driftveil? Odds are he'll be too busy with Ibuki-san."

"Let's go." Hailey agreed. She and Zorua began walking, the other two following them.

-B2W2-

They soon reached the Driftveil Drawbridge. Robyn walked a little bit faster; Wendy liked being held like this but her thoughts were interrupted when she saw something in the sky. "There are some flying types here, but you'll probably only find Ducklett." Zorua explained to the group. "Catch one if you want." Caleb and Flash really didn't care, but they were however, going to where they heard guitar playing, assuming that was where Ibuki and Casey were.

"I'd love a Ducklett." Robyn said. Wendy tried to point up but Robyn didn't notice. A shadow suddenly shot down at Robyn and Wendy, and Robyn looked up. Before anything could happen, Wendy used Confusion on the shadow. The shadow was frozen in place and confused by the attack. It was revealed to be a Ducklett! "Wow what luck!" Robyn replied.

_'No one ambushes my trainer!'_ Wendy shouted jumping out of Robyn's arms and attacking Ducklett with a Double Slap attack. Every slap hit, Robyn throwing a Poke Ball at the Ducklett.

1…

2…

3…

Success! Ducklett was caught!

When they found the two others, Ibuki was strumming a bit of a lullaby, Casey snuggled up close to her, fast asleep.

'Shipping!' Flash thought with a grin. 'I wish I had a camera...' As if Henry read his thoughts, he held out a camera to him. "How the hell did you get a-" Flash began to whisper, but decided not to question it. He had snapped a photo of the duo and handed it back to Henry.

The guitarist however, turned around a little having heard the pic being taken. "Oh oh?"

"This is my kinda thing!" Peanut apparently had a healing factor with him, and hopped up onto Flash's shoulder, pulling his own camera out of nowhere. Ibuki then just shrugged it off, continuing her lullaby for Casey.

"Hey Flash-chan. You can carry Casey-chan, right?" Ibuki requested.

"When did that become a problem for me to handle?" He responded. Caleb had already picked his brother up and kept walking towards Driftveil.

Henry then lifted his hand up slowly showing a Staples button before pressing it.

"I love this thing." Henry said gleefully.

-B2W2-

Upon reaching Driftveil City, in his subconscious, Casey felt a flash of familiarity. An aura... Something familiar about an aura in the city. He would get an intense feeling of déjà vu. 'An old friend' was the first thing that came to mind. He knew someone in Unova? No, he thought that impossible. There's no one native to Unova that he knows about. Casey wouldn't let it go as the party approached the gym. 'I thought I knew that aura from somewhere...' He thought. But for some reason he couldn't identify whose aura it was.

"So who's the Gym leader here?" Henry asked.

"A crazy mining guy who has ground types." Zorua told Henry. "Pokémon with levitate or flying types over all are useful. Otherwise, grass and water types have an advantage." Robyn's eyebrow twitched up at that and smiled.

"Say shouldn't we go to the Pokémon Center first?" Henry asked.

"Oh, I took care of that. I secretly healed everyone with Heal Pulse."

"Well then to the Gym we go!" Henry called out.

"Just another wackjob to deal with in my life..." Flash sighed. "This guy got a name?"

"Clay." Zorua told Flash. "He's not that great at battling, though. You're only screwed over if you picked Tepig."

"I'm right here you know." Caleb frowned.

"Caleb, Qwilfish will help out quite a bit this battle, so don't worry too much about it." Flash reassured. When they reached the gym, the guard out front stopped them.

"You guys can't enter unless you're challenging the gym. Are all of you challenging the gym?"

"When Casey wakes up, he will. I also am here to challenge the gym." Caleb answered.

"Ibuki's just here cuz she's with these two." Mioda answered, pointing to the brothers.

"Can't we watch?" Henry asked.

"Not unless you've already earned six gym badges." The guard responded firmly.

"What. The. F***?" Flash deadpanned, looking at the person. Robyn growled to herself.

"We can't even watch? What kind of gym is this?" Henry asked. Ibuki was kinda confused about this.

"Ibuki thought this was the fifth gym." Then had an idea. "Is Clay-chan busy right now?"

"This is for safety reasons." The guard explained. "Only those prepared to risk the challenge should be in it."

"Oh come on! Do you even know who these two are?" Ibuki teased, pointing to the boys. "They can handle a silly little mine!" Caleb's guess was a 'no' on the guard's behalf.

"So can we." Henry insisted.

"Only those challenging it may enter or someone with five badges already. This is because the gym is a hazardous area." The guard continued.

'Or because Clay is doing 'something' down there he doesn't want us to see.' Flash thought.

"Now we just uh..." Caleb looked around. "Anyone brave enough to wake my brother up?" Robyn and Henry backed away knowing what happened last time. Hailey, being the brave one produced a Poke Ball and sent out Dewott. Dewott used Water Gun on Casey. Ibuki was about to wake him up, but then the Water Gun connected on the journeyman, causing him to grab the musician by the wrist as he sprung awake, but calmed down after seeing whose wrist it was.

"Call me crazy guys...but I think someone I know is here in this town." He said.

"Everyone who is challenging please enter." The guard announced.

Hailey blinked at Casey. "Hold that thought until we've beaten the gym." She entered the gym. Casey and Caleb began to enter, leaving Flash and Ibuki to wait outside.

"Keep your ears open." He whispered to the musician. "Just in case."

Henry sighed. "Well I'm not ready to face any gym so good luck guys." Henry called over.

"Yeah, let's wait." The ex-narrator nodded.

Mioda however, didn't respond to that. 'Please, please, please, tell Ibuki that they'll be okay.' She thought. Ibuki was just nervous now, wondering if Flash was genuinely concerned for the brothers, or if he was just being a troll. She wasn't strumming out of boredom. Her main focus was hoping the boys would be okay. Flash just waited outside with a neutral expression. But deep down, he honestly was wondering what Clay was doing down there. Maybe mining? Maybe something private? He didn't know.

Zorua managed to pass himself off as one of Caleb's Pokémon and scamper in. As soon as they entered, the floor gave way under them, and Hailey, Caleb, and Casey were sent hurtling into the floor...

-B2W2-

Casey had conjured a light orb in his hand. He looked around at where he was, When Casey's eyes adjusted to the light, he found himself alone. Apparently, the three trainers had been separated...

"Well this sucks." Casey frowned. "At least I'm used to going it alone...most of the time." He began to look around the area to get his bearings; Casey seemed to be in a mine of sorts. There were candles around if he felt like lighting them, which he did for one of them. "Let there be light." He grinned, forming a fire wisp in his other hand and taking aim at one of the candles. Once he was sure of his shot, he fired off a wisp. "There was light." The mine was now lit up as the journeyman dispelled his orb of light and grabbed the candle. It was pretty empty…

Until he spotted a light around the corner. Casey went towards the light.

"Anyone there?" He reached for Servine's Poke Ball. A miner soon appeared in front of Casey, sending out a Sandile at him. Casey had already called out Servine, the Sandile using Bite.

"Dodge it, Servine!" Casey whisper yelled. Servine darted out of the way, then back at Sandile in hopes of using Wrap. Sandile got constricted by Wrap, Servine began slapping Sandile with Vine Whip. His facial expression was rather hostile. With that, Sandile was defeated and the trainer fled.

'_Excellent.'_ Servine mused. Casey and Servine began following the path the fleeing trainer was taking. They soon encountered another trainer who sent out Palpitoad. It lunged at Servine with a Body Slam, but Servine leaped in the air, its tail taking on a green glow as it slammed down on Palpitoad.

Servine has learned Leaf Blade! And had unceremoniously defeated Palpitoad in one shot.

"Let's keep following these trainers, Servine." Casey suggested, going after the fleeing trainer.

_'Sure thing.'_ Servine was following. The next trainer Casey encountered sent out a Drillbur to attack Servine with Metal Claw. Servine used Vine Whip to fell the Drillbur, as Casey would notice a rather strange light ahead.

"What's that?" Casey wondered, looking at the glow. "Is that evolution?" No, it was just straight up light. Casey and Servine walked ahead to the light. "Please tell me I didn't die..." He didn't. Instead, he came just in time to see an old guy giving Hailey the badge.

"The next challenger's here!" The guy grinned.

"You're this Clay guy I'm hearing about?" Casey inquired, Clay nodding to his question. "I've heard uh...interesting things about you." Casey commented. "At least this gym isn't a death trap."

"Well, we tend to keep out non-challengers because it's a slightly dangerous gym." Clay explained. Servine blinked at Clay, thinking, 'Understatement of the year'.

"Slightly dangerous?" He looked around. "More like one false move and tragedy strikes." He then cracked a smile. "I like that you're willing to take the risk of having a gym like this." He also knew that Ibuki was a non-challenger. He didn't want to lose his girlfriend anytime soon, so he was a little grateful about that.

"I like you, kid. Let's battle!" Clay sent out his Krokorok.

"Well I am pretty likable..." He blushed a little before motioning to Servine to step forward. He also scanned Krokorok. If there was one thing Casey knew about himself, it was the fact he had quite a lot of friends. Friends from Johto, friends from Tellius, Hoenn, the Neo, Kalos and the Spiral. He felt himself to be quite the social butterfly, even though he was a little crazy in the head.

**Krokorok, the Desert Croc Pokémon, and the evolved form of Sandile. Protected by thin membranes, their eyes can see even in the dead of night. They live in groups of a few individuals.**

Krokorok lunged forward to use Bite, but Casey shouted,

"Leaf Blade!" Servine jumped up to use said move, outright destroying Krokorok in one attack. Out came a Palpitoad, and Servine used Vine Whip to have his vines wrap around the Water/Ground type. Palpitoad was stopped in its tracks, but still tried to hit with Mud Shot. Servine slammed Palpitoad on the ground before he was struck with Mud Shot.

-B2W2-

"Caleb! Caleb!" Zorua was jabbing Caleb in the ribs.

"Ow..." Caleb groaned. He didn't know if he had broken something or not.

"Wake up! Caleb!" The fox continued doing what it was doing, until Caleb hissed softly in pain.

"Zorua, I'm awake! Just in a bit of pain."

"Oh! Sorry!" There was the sound of small footsteps retreating in the darkness, the sorcerer identifying them as Zorua's.

"It's fine...unless I landed on my tailbone..." He groaned. It was hard for him to tell where exactly he was hurting, what with him being in the darkness. He could have hurt his back, or maybe even a rib for all he knew.

"Hm... Try and find Pignite's Poke Ball to call him out. He can light the place up." Zorua suggested. Caleb looked for Pignite's Poke Ball, and he succeeded.

_'What cha need?'_ Pignite asked Zorua, looking at him.

_'Can you light this place up with your fire so we can see?'_ Zorua asked.

_'I just need like a candle or torch...or something.'_ Pignite responded.

"Maybe I can enchant one of my arrows with fire so we can see?" Caleb suggested. "Then we could look for whatever Pignite needs?"

_'Just use a big fire attack for a few moments!'_ Zorua deadpanned. And he was wondering why Servine constantly called Pignite an idiot. The Fire Pig Pokémon then used Ember, and with that Zorua found a candle and held it up to Pignite. Pignite lit the candle up with Ember, solving their problem concerning seeing.

"Can you see now, Caleb?" Zorua asked.

"Yeah." He nodded, getting up slowly. "I hope I didn't break anything."

"It doesn't look like you did." Zorua said. The fox said that to reassure Caleb, as he could not be for certain if Caleb had any fractures from the fall or any broken bones. But he felt that Caleb wouldn't be able to get up if he did have any broken bones. Caleb began navigating through the mine with Pignite following. He called out Qwilfish as well seeing as he might need the Balloon Pokémon later. Two trainers approached Caleb, one sending forth a Sandile and the other a Palpitoad.

"This isn't what I had in mind, but okay then." He motioned his two Pokemon forward. "Pignite, Arm Thrust on Sandile. And aim down towards its height this time. Qwilfish, Poison Sting on Palpitoad."

The two did what they were ordered to do. Sandile was defeated. Palpitoad looked majorly unharmed and used Aqua jet at Pignite. Qwilfish used Rollout to attempt and deter Pignite away from his ally, having both parties taking damage from that. Pignite then darted forward, aiming to use Tackle. Palpitoad was smacked back. It used Aqua Jet at Pignite again. Pignite was sent reeling, Qwilfish using Rollout again.

"Pignite, switch out." Caleb recalled Pignite. Palpitoad went for a Mud Shot, and Qwilfish went for a Water Gun. The attacks collided, but Palpitoad was struck down. The trainers fled, prompting Caleb to follow after them. The next trainer that Caleb encountered had a Drillbur that tried scratching Qwilfish, the Balloon Pokémon retaliating with Water Gun. Qwilfish won because of that, and heard sounds of battle up ahead.

"That must be Casey." He smirked, following the noises. Caleb would come upon Servine defeating Palpitoad. Down to his last Pokémon, Clay brought out Excadrill.

"What's that?" Casey looked at his Pokedex.

**Excadrill, the Subterrene Pokémon, and the evolved form of Drillbur. Forming a drill with its steel claws and head, it can bore through a steel plate, no matter how thick it is.**

"Well then. This'll be good." Casey chuckled nervously. "Servine, Leaf Blade!" Servine tried to use that move. Excadrill closed up in a pod and shot at Servine with Bulldoze. Servine tried dodging, but the attack still hit where Servine had been standing, causing a tremor, causing Servine to faceplant. Excadrill attacked with Slash next. Servine attempted warding Excadrill off with Vine Whip, and managed to do so, but Excadrill wasn't damaged very much. He used Rock Slide next.

"Maneuver through the rocks, Servine!" Casey cautioned, Servine going as fast as he could for dodging. Servine mostly did that, but Excadrill was waiting for him at the end, with a Slash ready. The wait was worth it as Servine went down.

"Alright Servine, switch out." He recalled Servine, reaching for Embrace's Premier Ball. "This Excadrill your ace, Clay?" He inquired. Clay nodded.

"Yeah, that's why I save him for last."

"I think it's time you meet my ace. Let's show 'em, Embrace!" Casey called the Gardevoir out, who gave a friendly smile and a wave to Excadrill. Clay grinned.

"You should save yer best for last, you know. Bulldoze!" Excadrill followed the command.

"Eh. Living on the edge." Casey shrugged. He looked at the battlefield. Embrace was struck with the Bulldoze, but regained her poise seconds later. The rocks from the Rock Slide were still there, giving Casey a devious idea. "Embrace, use Psychic on one of those rocks! Just like you did fighting Flash's old boss!" Casey ordered. Embrace used Psychic to lift up one of the rocks and threw it right at Excadrill. The rock slammed into Excadrill, throwing him back.

"Now, Shadow Ball!" Casey called, Embrace using the move on Excadrill. Excadrill was slammed with the attack again, using Bulldoze again. "Psychic and hold Excadrill up in the air!" Casey called once again. The Gardevoir nodded, trying to lift Excadrill up in the air with Psychic. Excadrill was hoisted up in the air with Psychic, Embrace then, back first, threw Excadrill into one of the rocks. And with that, Excadrill was defeated. Clay forked over the Quake badge before turning to Caleb.

"I'm his brother." Caleb explained.

Casey took the badge in hand. "Yeah, that's right. He wanted to see how we do things in the Pokémon Leagues, and so far he's doing well." He added.

"I see. Well, let's have a go, then!" Clay sent out Krokorok.

"Very well." He nodded. "Qwilfish, let's go!" Casey decided to watch this match. Krokorok led off with Mud Shot, while Qwilfish fought back with Water Gun. The Desert Croc was beaten and Palpitoad was sent out. "Alright, switch out." Caleb recalled Qwilfish and sent out Swadloon. "Razor Leaf, Swadloon!"

_'Do forgive me for this.'_ Swadloon apologized to Palpitoad, using the aforementioned move on his opponent. Palpitoad was felled with that hit, and now Excadrill came out. Caleb swapped Swadloon for Qwilfish again. "Water Gun again, Qwilfish!" The Balloon Pokémon did that to attack. Excadrill was defeated!

Caleb got the badge, and the three and Zorua were allowed on the elevator. That sense of déjà vu from before had returned, though. Casey could feel it getting stronger and stronger as he ascended in the elevator, until they reached the top. When the door opened, and they found their friends waiting for them...G was standing right behind the group, holding an Eevee and waving at Casey. When he saw G, he breathed,

"I knew it...I thought I felt someone around here." G continued to wave silently. Henry came running at them, panicking.

"GUYS!" He shouted. He had a Pansage in his arms.

"What's happened?" Caleb had to ask, a sense of urgency in his tone.

"It's Robyn. I haven't seen her since you guys entered the gym. I looked all around the city, and I couldn't find her. The only thing I found was this girl who apparently saw our battle on Route 5 and she gave me Finnick here as a reward for that battle." Henry told them. Finnick the Pansage waved at them.

"What? Why?" Caleb was curious. Casey however, walked over to G. Ibuki and Flash? They were just watching this play out.

"Why about Robyn or Finnick?" Henry asked making sure.

Hailey blinked. "We should search, then." Hailey let go of Emolga. "Search the sky, Emolga!" The flying squirrel shot off to look for the missing girl. "Meanwhile, we should split up and search the city." Hailey commanded.

G started walking away suddenly.

"Hey wait up!" Casey followed after G.

"We'll be with ya, kiddo." Flash told the sorcerer. "If she got taken by those Neo Team Plasma dicks, I won't shed a tear if I have to beat them up." Finnick then reached down and grabbed one of Henry's Pokeballs and threw it. Out came... Howler.

"What the... Finnick. Why'd you do that?" Henry blinked at Finnick. G stopped.

"I was going to tell you something, Casey, but it can wait."

Hailey nodded. "We shouldn't be going solo. Everyone stick with at least one person."

Zorua hopped over to Flash and Caleb. "Let's go find Robyn!"

"No, I want to know now." Casey huffed. "And I thought Darky was traveling with you."

"She's waiting at the place I was going to bring you to." G said. "I wanted to personally inform you about the world tournament, but this seems more important."

'World tournament...' He thought, then said, "Friends first. Fame second. That's how I'm doing this."

"That's what I figured." G nodded. "I'll find you again once this thing is over. I'm not leaving Driftveil, so..." He started walking away.

"See ya there!" Casey waved him goodbye.

"Hey, Ibuki wants to come with you three!" Mioda requested. But as this was happening, Henry shouted,

"EVERYONE WAIT!"

"We're listening." Flash coolly told him.

"Look at Howler." Henry pointed. The little puppy was sniffing around. The foursome were looking at Howler.

"He got a lead?" Caleb wondered. Howler didn't do anything except kept smelling around. Soon they followed him right to... the entrance to the gym.

"Really? Howler. Everyone was standing out here." That's when Howler began scratching at the door.

"She's trapped inside the gym?" Flash thought. "But that shouldn't be true, right?" Hailey walked up to the guard and flipped open her badge case. He opened the door for her.

"Let's go in, then. Howler will come with Casey, Caleb, Zorua, and I, since we're the only ones allowed to enter."

"Okay, be careful Howler." Henry told him who nodded and licked him before entering.

"Stay safe, Casey-chan!" Ibuki gave Casey a peck on the cheek, giving him a trusting smile.

"I promise, Ibuki-dono." He went with Caleb inside, following Hailey.

"So what's the plan?" Caleb inquired.

"We follow Howler." Hailey said calmly.

-B2W2-

Meanwhile, inside the gym, Clay could hear footsteps heading his way. Clay turned to the footsteps to see a girl holding a Gothita appeared. "Are you the Gym Leader here?" She asked. It was Robyn!

Clay nodded. "You're the next challenger, then?"

"Indeed. Name's Robyn." Robyn said as she stepped forward and stood where the challenger would go.

Clay grinned. "Let's battle, then!" He sent out his Krokorok.

(Soundtrack: 'You Give Love a Bad Name' by Bon Jovi)

The others were following Howler inside the gym. "We're almost there!" Hailey chased after him.

"Gladly." Robyn replied yet before she threw her Poke Ball there was a howl from behind. She looked to see Howler running in. "Howler?" Hailey was close behind Howler.

"Robyn, if you wanted to challenge the gym, you should have told someone first..."

Clay coughed as a way to get Robyn's attention.

"I wanted to surprise you all. Now if you'll excuse me I have a gym battle to win." Robyn turned back around. "Go Jade!" She called out as her Snivy appeared. Hailey folded her arms.

"You should have told ONE person..." Krokorok shot forward with a Bite. Jade brought out her vines and wrapped them around Krokorok's muzzle and threw it past her. However, Krokorok grabbed the vines, and red energy shot through them. Snivy was inflicted with Torment!

"What the?! What happened?!" Robyn shouted surprised.

"That's Torment, honey." Clay said. "Now you can't use the same move twice in the row. Swagger!" While Robyn was distracted, Krokorok used swagger. Jade's attack went up, but she was confused.

"Oh great. Jade try and use Growth!" Jade attempted but ended up hitting herself.

The guys were now there, looking at Robyn. "You want to tell her?" The older asked.

Hailey sighed. "Let her finish her gym match; I already told her."

"Call Flash with your lacrima and tell the others what happened." Zorua said to the brothers.

"I'll do it." Caleb did just that, getting out his lacrima and filling Flash in on what happened.

Back to the battle, Clay grinned as Krokorok used Bite again. Jade was bit.

"Jade, use Vine Whip!" Jade was successful in not hitting herself and went to hit Krokorok. Krokorok grabbed the vines and swung Jade by them. Jade soon snapped out of her confusion.

"Great! Now use Attract!" Robyn hollered. Jade sent out a plethora of hearts at Krokorok, and Jade was successful in making her opponent infatuated. "Yes! Now use another Vine Whip!" She shouted. Jade did so whipping the infatuated Pokémon multiple times. With those attacks, Krokorok went down. Palpitoad was up next! Casey was watching this battle with a smile.

-B2W2-

Back up in the lobby of the Gym, Flash had hung up on Caleb after the latter had informed them about where Robyn was.

"Well, at least it wasn't Neo Plasma Grunts." Henry sighed in relief.

"Yeah. I doubt you'd want to see what I would do to them, eh?" Flash asked. Which his method was basically stabbing them to death.

"Neo Team Plasma?" Ibuki wondered. "Are those the bad guys in this region?"

-B2W2-

Back down below, Palpitoad had been felled by Jade. "This is too easy! I thought you'd be more of a challenge!" Robyn called over. "Let's make this quick. Jade, Attract." Jade smirked too and sent out one last Attract attack. Excadrill was infatuated, making Robyn grin. "This fight is in the bag. Now use one last Growth and Vine Whip." Jade did both and sent her whips flying out. The guys looked at each other again.

"Once she's done we get out of here?" The sorcerer inquired.

"Yeah, we are." Casey nodded.

The vines Jade used hit…but they didn't do a whole lot.

"Huh? Jade keep it up." Robyn said. Jade couldn't keep it up due to the Torment, and Excadrill snapped out of the Attract and went for a Bulldoze. Jade was hit and it was enough to take her out. "Jade, no!" Robyn cried out as she scooped up her Pokémon.

"Robyn got too overconfident." Zorua said. "She assumed a grass type would be strong against every member of a ground type gym. She doesn't know Excadrill's typing."

"Ground and Steel." Casey added. "Steel resists Grass, negating Excadrill's weakness to Jade's attacks. That doesn't make it immune to Water type attacks however…"

"Next Pokémon, lass." Clay grinned.

She returned Jade and went to grab her next Poke Ball until she felt something touch her leg. She saw Wendy. "Wendy?" She didn't get a response other than Wendy walking out onto the field.

"Bulldoze!" Excadrill pulled off the technique. The attack struck Wendy. 'Wendy's not strong enough to take an Excadrill out.' Robyn thought to herself but then though of something. 'Maybe she doesn't have to.'

"Wendy, quick, use Confusion!" Wendy nodded and did so. "Please work." Robyn silently begged. This caused Excadrill to be frozen in place from the attack.

"Yes. Now use... Tickle!" What.

Wendy quickly strolled up and began tickling Excadrill. And Excadrill was not happy about that. It was just as mad as Rupert was when his bananas in Heroes vs. Villains were being messed with by said Villains. Yeah, Excadrill was pissed. And used Slash on Wendy to show he was not at all amused.

"Hey! Play Nice!" Robyn shouted and that's when Wendy began dancing around Excadrill like she was playing. Excadrill couldn't give a damn about Wendy's stall tactics to save a life, so he used Drill Run, smashing the ground up. Wendy was thrown up in the air, and Excadrill bounded upwards to slash Wendy back down to Earth.

Houston, we have landed.

"Wendy!" Robyn called out. Wendy was unable to do anything as she was hit, sent flying into the ground, and fainted.

Howler cringed. _'That's going to leave a mark.'_ She sighed and returned Wendy. She pulled out her last Poke Ball.

"This's the final battle, missy. Choose wisely." Clay advised.

"This is a pretty big risk but I'm willing to take it." Robyn said as she kissed the Poke Ball for good luck. "Diana! It's all you now!" She hollered as she called out her Ducklett. Excadrill, without any second thought [or first thoughts for that matter] used Rock Slide.

"Dodge quickly!" Robyn shouted. Diana was fast and luckily dodged the attack. "Now use Feather Dance!" Diana shot out a cloud of feathers at Excadrill. Casey scanned Ducklett with his Pokedex.

**Ducklett, the Water Bird Pokémon. They are better at swimming than flying, and they happily eat their favorite food, peat moss, as they dive underwater.**

Excadrill's attack was lowered, but it kept using Rock Slide.

"Zorua, I don't know about you, but Ducklett in a battle like this kind of feels like a double edged sword." Casey commented.

"Aye. Her water attacks are really strong in this fight, but Rock Slide is super affective against her." Zorua concurred. "The first one to make a mistake loses."

"Let's just pray Robyn doesn't get cocky." Caleb nodded in agreement.

"She was before." Zorua pointed out dryly.

After the last Rock Slide, Diana had used Aqua Ring to restore some of its HP, then she was buried under a Rock Slide. All seemed lost…

.

.

… Soon a wing popped out of the rocks as Diana dug her way out not hurt too badly and the Aqua Ring restored some of the damage taken. The Gods of this universe were in uproar over this. Excadrill kept spamming Rock Slide, the battlefield now messed up ground wise and absolutely covered in rocks. Rocks were on top of rocks. Diana managed to dodge and went in for an Aerial Ace. Excadrill was hit, but it wasn't very effective. He used Slash while Ducklett was close. Diana barely missed it and opened her mouth to fire a close range Bubblebeam in its face. Hopefully with the Tickle Wendy got in Excadrill's defense was weakened enough that she could finish this. But Bubblebeam was a special attack. Not a physical one. Excadrill was hurt, but not down. Rock slide was used again!

"Diana, get out of there!" She tried to escape but it seemed futile. Not even her Aqua Ring would save her if she couldn't get out fast. Robyn began thinking. She then thought of how she tried to dive-bomb her on the Driftveil Bridge. "Diana! Dive towards the ground!" Diana nodded and did so falling straight down and when she rocketed towards the ground she flew above the ground, dodging the rocks. Unfortunately for Diana, going downward was only closing her in more. She didn't seem to have anywhere to escape to. 'No. I thought that would work. I thought she would be able to outspeed this.' Robyn thought. "T-Try flying up!" She called out through teary eyes.

Diana tried but found that just as difficult. There was no escape.

ROCKS!

Sorry, I just had to do that. I had The Australian Outback on the brain.

Caleb took note of this attempted strategy. "At least it was worth a shot." Caleb shrugged. Soon Diana was smacked down by a big rock.

"NO DIANA!" Robyn cried out as she ran over and collected her fainted Pokémon. Which took a lot of digging. And a lot of big rocks.

(Soundtrack: None)

Clay walked over to her and held out a hand, smiling. "Chin up, lass. That was very impressive for your first try."

"But I was doing so well. I almost had you until your Excadrill came out. How come I took out two of your with one Pokémon while your last one got to all of mine? I thought Diana and I could do it." Robyn said as she sat there saddened but took his hand while the other still held Diana.

"It was a valiant effort, at least." Casey reassured. "The main thing is that no matter what, a loss shouldn't be a deterrent to getting back up on your feet and powering on." That and he remembered Clay said he saved his Excadrill for last. Now he knew why.

"Steel types are difficult to handle, lass." Clay said. "Besides, you need to train more. You'll defeat me with ease once you've grown as a trainer."

"Steel type Pokémon are resistant to a lot of things." Casey corroborated on Clay's statement. "Only things I can think of that would be super effective against 'em would be Fire, Fighting and Ground." Clay nodded.

"You could easily take on the first four gym leaders, with this level of training. You've worked very hard, and your Pokémon love you. You have the makings of a great Pokémon Trainer."

She smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Clay."

"Well spoken, sir." Caleb complimented the gym leader. "And to think Robyn and I are on our first journey as Pokémon Trainers."

"Don't forget Henry." Robyn reminded.

"Especially Henry." The sorcerer agreed.

"Clay? Can I ask you a favor?" Robyn asked.

"Of course. What's the favor?" The gym leader asked in response.

"Can you have one last battle?" She requested of Clay.

"Great. I'll be right back with your next challenger." Robyn said before she ran out. Soon Howler began barking happily as Robyn was pulling Henry down to the battlefield.

"Robyn! What are you doing?! You know I'm not allowed to be down here." Henry said sternly to her.

"Challengers are allowed down here." Hailey pointed out. Clay already had Krokorok out and ready.

"No. No. I'm-I'm not ready." Henry objected trying to back out.

"Yes you are. Henry I have seen the way you've connected with you Pokémon. You have such a strong bond. I think you have what it takes. Please just try." Robyn pleaded.

"But... I'm scared. I don't think I can take on someone like Clay." Henry sighed, prompting Hailey to step in.

"The worst thing that'll happen is you'll lose." Hailey pointed out. She walked over to him and gently grabbed him by the shoulders. "Remember what I told you when I gave you the Poke Ball to catch Broham? You WILL lose if you battle with Pokémon. But you caught him anyway, didn't you? Didn't you promise you would be strong? If you don't try to win and fail, you'll never try to win and succeed. Just think about it as fun, because this is a gym battle. Try your best, and it doesn't matter whether you win or lose. There's always next time." It warmed the journeyman's heart to hear Hailey say that. Seeing as Casey himself has dealt with quite a number of losses but managed to get back up and power on? That motivation was enough to keep him going this whole time.

Henry smiled. "O-Okay. I'll try." Henry breathed before stepping up. He knew he had two Pokémon that could help but what about his third? He had a bad feeling. But he wouldn't let it show. "You ready ole timer?" Henry asked mockingly.

Clay's eyes instantly narrowed. "Ready to crush you un'erfoot I am. Bring it, scruffy."

"So I will. And I see you got a Krokorok. Well how about he meet an ole friend. Go Vile!" Henry shouted as his Krokorok came out.

_'Wassup my homie!'_ Vile shouted.

Clay's Krokorok used Bulldoze, clearly not Vile's homie. Vile was hit.

_'Hey man not cool.'_

Vile quickly used his Swagger. Krokorok used swagger at the same time.

...they were both confused.

"Hey Hailey? Can I tell you something?" Casey asked. Hailey blinked, looking away from the match.

"Sure, Casey. What is it?"

"It's uh...concerning my reason for being in the Unova region." He explained.

"Is it that hard to explain, dude?" Caleb frowned.

"Don't pressure him." Hailey frowned at Caleb. "Go ahead and tell me, Casey. Why did you come to Unova?"

"Um...you're not going to believe this, and I won't blame you if you don't but uh...I was on Survivor before." Casey spat it out then. Hailey blinked.

"Survivor... Oh! It's one of those reality TV shows, right? I've never seen it, but that's amazing that you were on it."

"Flash and I love that show. There was uh, one instance in particular where I was thought to be underestimated. Because I was able to build a house of cards." Casey explained. "So here I am, hoping to prove those three fellow 'fans' right."

"You? Building a house of cards?" Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah...I went a little cuckoo out there once something that I wish not to speak of happened out there, and long story short, I actually started cussing. And I never cuss." AKA, his 'Senpai' getting voted out. People that watched that season, you know who he is.

"So you want to prove yourself because you lost?" Hailey asked. She frowned. "No, that was too harsh. I guess I'm kind of here for the same reason as you."

"Ninth place wasn't that bad a finish, in all honesty." He shrugged. "But still, if it means making them realize who I really am, they'll know if I come back, they better be ready for me." Hailey nodded. She looked down.

"Like I said, I think I came here for a similar reason..."

Casey came up with this thought. "You were on reality TV too?"

Hailey sweatdropped. "No! I lost in the Sinnoh league..."

"Oh yeah..." He facepalmed. "You told us this that you got to like, quarterfinals?"

Hailey nodded. "I trained my Pokémon really hard, but I still lost... It kind of made me question whether I was really cut out to be a trainer..." She looked down. "So I'm going to decide once I fight in the Unova League..."

"That's still something to be proud of." Casey stated. "I've said it once and I'll say it time and time again. Just find the motivation you need to keep going and power on." Hailey sighed.

"That's easy for you to say..."

"Then let me ask you this. Simple yes or no question." Casey asked her. "Are you going to keep beating yourself up over your loss in the Sinnoh League?"

"Of course I'm over that. It only makes me more determined to win this time around." She turned to Casey, fire in her eyes. "I'll even defeat all of you guys if I have to! This league is my victory!" Caleb was just listening to Hailey boast and put on a poker face. He was hurting a little on the inside from hearing that. Hailey grinned at Casey and Caleb. "Truth be told, I hope I'm out against you two. I'll have an awesome time beating you, since you're both formidable."

Plunging the knife deeper, Hailey...

"I'm not going to go down like a chump, dude." Casey countered.

"...I said that you're both formidable." Hailey deadpanned.

"That means hard to defeat." Zorua put in. Apparently he's forgotten that Casey isn't the sharpest sword in the armory. Hailey was about to ask, but Zorua have her a look that told her that she shouldn't. Instead, she went back to watching the match.

"Vile snap out of it!" Vile tried but found himself meeting his own fist. Meanwhile, the other Krokorok seemed to be banging his head on the ground.

"Vile listen to my voice. You can break this! I know you can!" Henry called out. Vile heard him and through some fighting he eventually broke free. "Yes! Now Sand Tomb!" Vile nodded before sending one out at the confused Krokorok. Krokorok was trapped. There didn't seem to be anything left for it to do, since it had no long range moves. With this, Vile dug into the ground. Krokorok continued struggling, but to no avail. That's when Vile popped up and hit the opposing Krokorok's face.

_'Surprise mothaf***er!'_ Krokorok was defeated.

Palpitoad came out next. "Vile return." Henry called out returning the ground type. "Go Finnick!" His Pansage came out.

"What? Where did he get that?" Robyn asked confused.

"While you were sneaking away." Zorua said to Robyn slyly. "Guess you miss out when you're on an undercover mission." Palpitoad used Body Slam. Finnick managed to jump out of the way and went for a Vine Whip. Palpitoad was defeated. Excadrill came out, but Finnick stayed out.

Excadrill went for Bulldoze, but Finnick took it like a champ and used Play Nice to begin dancing around Excadrill. Like with Wendy before him, the mole like Pokémon used Drill Rush on the floor. The rocks were thrown in the air along with the grass monkey but Finnick actually used this to his advantage. Being a monkey-like Pokémon he began bounding off the rocks like they were tree branches getting closer to Excadrill before using his Vine Whip to grab some of the stones and hurl them at Excadrill. Excadrill curled up into a pod and used bulldoze. He easily broke through the rocks on his way to the one Finnick was standing on. Finnick stumbled and tried to regain his balance which made sure he couldn't get away. And because of that he was hit though it seemed Finnick dropped something as he was. Finnick was flung back and hit another nearby boulder and got knocked out from the blow.

"Finnick!" Henry hollered.

"Oh no. Not again." Robyn said, seeing his battle turning out like hers.

"Mah Excadrill can smash through pure steel when it gets a goin', yes it can!" Clay grinned mockingly.

"That may be true but in the end all machinery will eventually crash and burn. So you'll do the crashing..." He said as he returned Finnick and pulled out another pokeball. "And I'll do the burning. With Broham!" Henry shouted sending out his first partner.

"WHAT?! What is he thinking? He knows Fire doesn't stand a chance against Ground types. I don't understand why he's not going for Vile." Robyn looked to Hailey.

"Excadrill is half steel type." Hailey pointed out. "Granted he doesn't take any hits whatsoever, he can beat it with Broham." Clay's eyes narrowed, and he instantly ordered a Rock Slide.

"Well yeah but it won't be easy. I couldn't beat it even after using two Pokemon who were strong against it typing wise. How can he do it?" Robyn asked. Broham dodged and went for a Tackle attack. Excadrill was hit by the Tackle. As soon as the attack finished, he swiped down on Tepig with a Slash. From that close range, it would be impossible to dodge. Broham went for a Defense Curl and raised his defense before being hit by the Slash. Broham uncurled himself and went for a face full of Ember. Excadrill took a number from the attack, slashing again. Broham took it again and was knocked back. Things were starting to look bad as Broham was slightly trembling.

"I can't watch Hailey." Robyn groaned as she covered her face and turned away.

"Expect the unexpected, Robyn." Caleb reassured. **"That statement never changes."**

"Don't worry..." Hailey patted Robyn on the back.

Excadrill used Bulldoze.

Robyn gulped as she heard Broham yelp from being hit. One more and Broham could be finished. "Broham! Don't give up! I believe in you!" Broham struggled to get up but through his trainer's encouraging words he stood. Broham suddenly cried out and was now engulfed in flames as he charged at Excadrill.

"WHOA!" Henry exclaimed.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Robyn shouted.

"That would be Flame Charge." Casey calmly informed. The attacks collided, with the end result being both Excadrill and Broham being defeated. However, because Henry still had Vile, he won the gym match!

Clay handed over the badge.

"HE DID IT!" Robyn happily hollered.

"I got my first gym badge!" Henry said excitedly. Zorua started bouncing around gleefully.

Hailey smiled to herself. "Alright, guys! We've kept Ibuki and Flash waiting long enough! Let's head up the elevator!" So the group headed up to the lobby again.

-B2W2-

When they reached the top, Casey could feel G was close again. This time he was standing to the side behind Flash and Ibuki. He would try to look for G. I wonder if he has a psychic bond with him.

"So what's next?" Caleb had to ask.

"Casey-chan's seriously going after one of his pals?" Ibuki had to wonder.

"I'm starting to think that G's hiding something. But then again, I could be wrong." Flash suggested. G was standing right behind Flash, grinning cheekily and waving at Casey.

"I keep getting these weird senses with you. What's going on?" The journeyman asked. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Oh, it's probably your aura powers resonating with the notebook." G suggested. "It still has traces of you in it. Anyway, I'm here to take all of you somewhere." G announced to the entire Unova group. "I already mentioned this to Casey."

"Ah..." Casey realized. "I wonder what else of me is in there."

"That place being?" Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"The world tournament, of course!" G grinned. Peanut's ears perked up.

"World Tournament?" Robyn asked.

"This'll be good." Flash deadpanned.

"Aw, Flash-chan! Don't be a stick in the mud. Who knows? It'll probably be good." Mioda playfully punched Flash in the arm, which he didn't take as playful.

"But how do you know we're all ready? I hear there's a cool Pokémon on the next route and I want to see if I can get it." Robyn pointed out.

"Yeah what if aren't ready?" Henry asked.

"Oh, I stalked your gym battles. Based on your battling skills there, you two are more than ready." G said.

"Yeah...I don't know how to explain that." Caleb sweatdropped.

"But what if we want to catch more Pokémon? There's still a few I'm interested in catching." Henry told G. G sighed.

"Look, it was REALLY hard getting all of you spots in this thing. It starts REALLY soon, and we don't exactly have a LOT of time..."

The two looked to each other. "Okay fine." They agreed.

"Well we might as well make a run for it now." Flash deadpanned.

G started rushing the group toward the stadium. As they ran, Peanut hopped on Caleb's shoulder.

"Hey, Caleb! This is your chance! Try and win this thing, or at least do really well, and then you'll get a ton of recognition!" Only Caleb could understand Peanut at this point.

"Alright. I'll give it a shot." He grinned, racing outside and looking for where the tournament was, Casey close behind.

**CHAPTER 5 END!**

(Next chapter is where all the fun happens! Johnny Fairplay gets put to shame, Caleb gets a second wind, and someone goes a little cuckoo. Find out what happens in the next intermission. Lata! -Flash)


End file.
